New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick Still Doesn’t give any suggestions about quarterback Mac Jones’ condition for Sunday’s game at the Cleveland Browns.
“I know everyone wants a definite answer, but it’s completely unrealistic to be able to do that,” Belichick said Friday of his starter, Myles Simmons by Pro Football Talk. “I don’t know how a player will feel after three days of practice, depending on volume, intensity – can’t tell until you actually experience it or he’s experienced it. it. So we’ll see.”
Jones hasn’t played since he came down with a reported high ankle sprain in Week 3. Zack Cox of NESN, Belichick readily admits the second-year pro is “making good progress” and has done “more this Thursday than last Thursday” as it relates to practice sessions.
Belichick also said Jones could be medically paid to return to the active roster “at any time” before or after Sunday’s game between the 2-3 Patriots and the 2-3 Browns in downtown Cleveland.
“There’s no deadline for that,” Belichick continued about the possibility of deleting Jones. “An injury report is an injury report. There’s a deadline on that and there’s a classification for that. And that’s what we follow.
“Internally we can do whatever we want – well, not do whatever we want, but based on the information available we can make any decision Again, part of it is how a player feels, what he can do, what he can’t do, what is the recovery compared to his previous results.
Rookie Bailey Zappe has become New England’s interim QB1 since substitute Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion at the Green Bay Packers in Week 4 on October 2. Zappe started and completed 27/36 long passes. 287 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his two outings.
Some has suggested that Zappe could spark a legal quarterback controversy if he guides the Patriots to a second straight win in Cleveland. Perhaps that made Jones want to get back into the squad before he fully recovered from his defeat.
