Report: Patriots quarterback Mac Jones ‘operating as if he has a chance’ to play against Packers

Mac Jones is apparently not yet willing to rule himself out of the New England Patriots’ upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers. According to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi, the second-year quarterback has told “multiple teammates to not count him out” and that he would still be “operating as if he has a chance” to play in the contest.

Jones, 24, suffered what has been described as a serious high ankle sprain against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The injury will reportedly keep him out for multiple games, and Jones himself was unable to participate in practice on Wednesday.

However, he has been in the facility and according to head coach Bill Belichick has made “a lot of progress” over the past 48 hours. Both Belichick and Jones have classified his status as “day to day”, not making any definitive statements about his injury and rehabilitation process.

Ultimately, his practice participation on Thursday and Friday will be more telling about his actual outlook for the game. And based on everything we know so far, he still appears to be a long shot to actually take the field versus the Packers.

In case he is indeed unable to go, the Patriots will hand the keys to their offense over to veteran backup Brian Hoyer. The 14-year veteran and fourth round rookie Bailey Zappe were the only QBs present for Wednesday’s practice.

“You never want to see anyone get hurt, ever,” Hoyer told reporters on Wednesday. “And we all know Mac’s hunger to compete, to be out there. For me, you support him, but also be ready to play, in the same sense. That’s just the nature of the job.”

The Patriots’ game in Green Bay is scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday.