The wait is over folks. Barring a setback, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is expected to start tomorrow night against the Bears, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic.
This followed up a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport late on Saturday night that Jones, “took the bulk of the first-team reps on Saturday, the team’s final practice of the week… a sign that he’s on track to return vs. the Bears.”
Jones has missed the last three weeks with a high ankle sprain. The team went 2-1 in his absence, and rookie QB Bailey Zappe sent shockwaves throughout the NFL with his 2-0 record, 596 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and 111.4 passer rating.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that Jones expected to be ready to play on Monday night – but he did not use the word start. Naturally, the speculation started on the idea of him being ready – but the team deciding to go with Zappe instead.
Thankfully, we can now put that narrative to rest.
From what I saw on the practice fields outside of Gillette Stadium this week, Jones looks ready to go. I wrote about it in full on Thursday (read HERE), but here’s one look of him running on his ankle:
Jones is my number one player to watch this week. Here’s what I wrote about his return in my Patriots vs. Bears preview:
Mac Jones
All eyes will be on Jones in his return on Monday night. As we know, the team had success with Bailey Zappe at the helm – but I’m of the mindset that it largely had to do with the offensive system they ran around him.
It’s time to put away the training camp offense and go back to the roots with Jones now back. I’m excited, and speculative, to see if they do so.
We officially get to see if the team will continue calling the offense with Jones the way they did with Zappe. If they do, they should have even more success scoring the football than they did over the last three weeks.
I’ll be at Gillette Stadium tomorrow night covering the game, so be sure to follow along here at CLNSMedia.com and tune into our postgame coverage on YouTube at Patriots Press Pass.
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