While Mac Jones’s status still remains in question heading into Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears, there were some signs on Thursday that the second-year quarterback will indeed be the one lining up under center for the first time in nearly a month.
As NESN’s Zack Cox pointed out following the team’s practice Thursday, Jones led the Patriots’ offensive line sled drill to begin practice, which is a customary drill usually handled by the starting quarterback.
Cox noted that both Brian Hoyer and Bailey Each Zappe each led the drill leading up to their starts, which would potentially mean Jones will take the field as New England tries to get above .500 after their 1-2 start.
Videos from various reporters showed Jones moving fairly well on Thursday, with his ankle not being as heavily taped as they were in previous sessions, although Jones has continued to wear the same leg brace on his left leg as he has the last two weeks.
Jones also looked strong throwing the football while remaining as accurate as usual, and had a pretty good bounce in his step while running around. Overall, he looked about as healthy as he has since getting injured against the Ravens back on September 25th, which should certainly have fans feeling pretty optimistic if he’s out there to start against the Bears.
Should he step back into the line-up, he can thank rookie Bailey Zappe for keeping the team in contention as Zappe played well as the starter in his absence.
The rookie stepped in after Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion early in their loss to Green Bay and went 2-0 over his two starts, completing 51-of-70 (72.9%) for 596-yards along with four touchdowns and one interception.
As a result, Jones and the Patriots find themselves sitting at 3-3 with a chance to jump back into the fray if the second-year quarterback can keep things going Monday night at Gillette Stadium.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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