Category: Mac Jones

MRI confirms “pretty severe” high ankle sprain for Patriots QB Mac Jones

Mac Jones suffered a “pretty severe” high ankle sprain

The news was as expected for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who reportedly suffered a “pretty severe” high ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the injury diagnosis on Monday.

There is no clear timetable on when Jones would be able to return, but it’s hard to envision any scenario where he’d suit up to play against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4. The hope right now for the team is avoiding surgery and getting their second-year quarterback completely healthy before trotting him back out on the field.

Jones suffered the injury during a play in the fourth quarter, when he got his leg twisted underneath a tackle made by Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell.

It’s a big loss for the Patriots at a critical juncture in their season. They’re 1-2 in their first two games with a Week 4 road matchup with the Green Bay Packers next on the itinerary. That means the team will have to lean on backup quarterback Brian Hoyer to take the reins under center.

The good news is Hoyer has plenty of experience in this position. It isn’t like the team is throwing rookie Bailey Zappe at quarterback and seeing what happens.

But Hoyer will have his hands full in trying to help keep the sinking ship afloat long enough for Jones to return.

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Patriots holding their breath on Mac Jones injury

There’s plenty of concern for the Patriots, following Mac Jones’ injury on Sunday.

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones left Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens with a leg injury.

The injury happened in the fourth quarter, as Baltimore was closing in on a victory. It occurred after Jones’ leg got twisted up after taking a hit from Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell. After the hit, Jones immediately hopped off the field on one leg and headed towards the locker room.

The second-year quarterback could be seen screaming in pain as he was being carried down to the locker room. It was an ugly sight that has led to some real concerns for the Patriots.

Coach Bill Belichick didn’t provide an update on the injury after the game.

The hit by Campbell put an exclamation point on what was a tough day for Jones under center. He went 21-of-32 on the afternoon for 321 yards and three interceptions.

New England dropped to 1-2 on the season with the loss, but they may have a bigger problem on their hands if Jones suffered a serious injury.

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You’ll never guess rookie WR Tyquan Thornton’s new nickname

Try guessing Tyquan Thornton’s new nickname

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has a new nickname for teammate Tyquan Thornton. Jones is reluctant to reveal the actual nickname, but he did give clues.

Thornton is still healing from an injury he suffered during the course of the preseason. Nevertheless, it seems as though he is gelling with his teammates and is a big part of the locker room.

Jones revealed that the nickname comes from an animated movie, during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Merloni, Fauria, and Mego.” However, he did not reveal too much else. If anything, this leaves the nickname open for interpretation, given the large amount of animated movies.

“He has a nickname. You’ll never guess it,” Jones said, per Keagan Stiefel of NESN.com. “You’ll have to ask him.”

It would be fair to guess that it has something to do with Thornton’s speed. In that case, Lighting McQueen from the animated movie Cars would be an intriguing guess. McQueen always wanted to show off his speed, something that Thornton certainly has.

Whatever the nickname is, we may truly never know the answer. Maybe one day we will be lucky enough to find out.

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Patriots QB Mac Jones gets praise from Steelers LB for in-game adjustments

Mac Jones is getting big praise from a Steelers defensive player.

Sunday was a bit of a struggle for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and the rest of the offense. However, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Malik Reed noticed Jones’ adjustments towards the later part of the game.

Jones went 21-of-35 on the afternoon, throwing for 252 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Steelers defense was able to frustrate him for most of the afternoon. New England made more of a commitment to running the football in the later stages of the game, which was something that helped Jones find his footing.

Reed took note of Jones reading the defense better as the game went on, per Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Herald-Review.

Jones will need to avoid a sloppy start next Sunday, as the Patriots take on an explosive Baltimore Ravens team. The Ravens are coming off a heartbreaking 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins in arguably the best game of Week 2.

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Patriots QB Mac Jones cleared to play against Steelers

Mac Jones has been cleared to play on Sunday

The New England Patriots no longer have to worry about hitting the emergency button with quarterback Mac Jones being removed from the injury report on Friday.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the second-year signal-caller has been cleared to play in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jones returned to the Patriots’ facility on Friday after missing Thursday’s practice with an illness. He’d also been dealing with a back injury suffered in the team’s season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.

But fortunately for the Patriots, they’ll have their leading-man heading into a tough battle against a ferocious Steelers defense. It’s the same defense that forced five turnovers and knocked off the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

There have been far too many questions along the Patriots’ offensive front, which clearly needs to be better in this game. If not, Jones and company could be in for even more pain and disappointment on Sunday.

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Patriots QB Mac Jones returns ahead of showdown vs Steelers

Good news for the Patriots with quarterback Mac Jones being back in the building

The New England Patriots got a huge lift on Friday with quarterback Mac Jones walking back into the building.

Things got a little dicey on Thursday with the second-year signal-caller missing practice with an illness. He’s already dealing with a back injury after getting clobbered in the season-opener by the Miami Dolphins. So the thought of Jones missing any time at this point was always going to raise some alarms.

But according to ESPN’s Field Yates, Jones has returned to the team ahead of the last practice before New England flies out to Pittsburgh.

The hope is that he will be ready to play in Week 2. Even with the back issues, he seemed to be headed in that direction regardless as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.

If for some reason Jones isn’t able to suit up, the Patriots would be forced to turn to backup Brian Hoyer to take the reins under center.

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Mac Jones not practicing on Thursday due to an illness

Mac Jones is battling an illness

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will miss practice on Thursday due to an illness, per Patriots.com writer Evan Lazar.

Jones was a bit of a surprise as a full participant at practice on Wednesday, following a vicious hit he suffered at the hands of Miami Dolphins safeties Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland. The second-year quarterback pointed to that particular play, which drew a flag for roughing the passer, as the culprit for his back injury.

He seemed certain that he would suit up and play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but obviously, his health will have to be good enough to allow him to do so.

However, if there is a silver lining here, it would be backup quarterback Brian Hoyer being emphasized more in the offense in Jones’ absence.

It could benefit the Patriots down the line if they eventually have to break open the emergency glass case and hand the signal-calling reins over to the longtime veteran.

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This is the play where Patriots QB Mac Jones got injured

Jones got absolutely crushed in the pocket on this play

One of the biggest questions hanging over the New England Patriots coming out of their season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins is the health of quarterback Mac Jones.

He got banged up on a roughing the passer penalty during the game after being completely leveled by Dolphins safeties Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland. After the game, it was noted that Jones had entered the x-ray room to get checked out for a back injury.

Fortunately for the Patriots, the x-rays came back negative, and the second-year quarterback has a chance to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, despite dealing with back spasms.

This play is a reminder of how quickly a season can change for a football team. The offense is already struggling at the moment, but it would have gone off a cliff if it lost Jones for an extended period of time.

Things won’t get any easier against a Steelers defense that completely decimated the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

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Patriots QB Mac Jones get a recovery timeline update

A major update on Mac Jones’ back injury.

The New England Patriots can breathe a little bit easier knowing quarterback Mac Jones’ injury isn’t anything significant. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, via Ian Rapoport, the x-ray scans came back negative, and it is believed that Jones is suffering from back spasms.

Given the positive update, there’s a legitimate chance the Patriots could have their second-year quarterback on the field when they travel to Pittsburgh for another Sunday afternoon road game.

Jones took a few big hits when standing in the pocket and waiting for receivers to get open against a feisty Miami Dolphins defense in the Week 1 opener. It wasn’t an absolute disastrous performance, but it was disappointing with him finishing 21-of-30 passing for 213 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

He also gave up a defensive touchdown on a strip sack fumble in the first half.

The Steelers are a bit banged up themselves after their upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but they’ll present another huge defensive challenge for Jones and the Patriots.

It’ll once again fall on the struggling offensive front to keep Jones upright and the offense on the field.

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Patriots get promising update on QB Mac Jones’ back injury

Patriots get a promising update on Mac Jones.

New England Patriots fans didn’t have to hold their breath for too long after hearing news of Mac Jones sustaining a back injury, following Sunday’s 20-7 road loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the second-year quarterback’s x-rays came back negative.

“X-rays were negative on Patriots QB Mac Jones’ injured back, per source. He’ll be evaluated further when the team gets back to Foxborough,” Pelissero posted on Twitter. 

Considering the Patriots are already struggling offensively, it would be devastating for the team to lose their quarterback this early in the season. It’s going to take a massive effort to turn things around, and Jones is key in all of it.

He finished the season-opener going 21-of-30 passing for 213 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Those numbers are obviously going to have to improve quite a bit if the team has any hopes of competing in a much-improved AFC East division.

Jones has to make better throws, the offensive line has to block better and receivers need to get open more consistently. It’s going to take a full-team effort.

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