New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones showed up on the injury list following Sunday’s ugly Week 1 loss to the division-rival Miami Dolphins. Jones was able to finish the game, but it was noted that he was dealing with a back injury of some sort.
One day after the season-opening loss, and we have more information on Jones’ status moving forward. It’s good news for all involved.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Jones has been suffering through back spasms. He has a chance to place Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Earlier on Monday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was unable to provide much of an update on Jones outside of indicating that he did travel back with the team from South Beach following the loss.
“No update on Mac. We’ll see how he is today. But he came back with us, so, we’ll see how that goes. We’ll take a look at it today. It has nothing to do with Mac. But just in general, where players are immediately after the game and where they are, let’s call it 18 hours after the game, is often quite different.”
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Mac Jones injury status
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New England’s season-opening loss to Miami was troubling for multiple reasons. Primarily, the offense couldn’t get out of its own way en route to scoring a single touchdown. As for Jones, he threw an interception and lost a fumble in a mistake-prone opener to his sophomore campaign.
There’s been a lot made of the Patriots’ offense recently. Who is calling the plays between assistants Joe Judge and Matt Patricia? Has Bill Belichick taken over play-calling duties?
What we do know is that Jones was criticized for his inability to pick up an extended playbook during the offseason and training camp. He responded by completing 21-of-30 passes for 213 yards with one touchdowns and two turnover in Sunday’s 20-7 loss to Miami. Like the rest of his team, Mac Jones will have to play better if New England is to turn this thing around. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like his back injury is too serious. That’s some good news.
If Jones is somehow unable to go next week against Pittsburgh, veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer would likely get the start. This wouldn’t be an ideal scenario for Belichick and Co.