Quarterback Mac Jones may return for New England’s Week Six matchup with Cleveland.
Or he may not.
As usual, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick wasn’t offering many clues during his Wednesday press conference.
“We’ll see,” Belichick said when asked if he expects to have Jones this weekend. “We’ll see what it looks like today and go from there.”
Jones has been sidelined since suffering an ankle sprain on his last play in the Week Three loss to Baltimore. Jones was listed as a limited participant in all three days of practice last week but was ultimately doubtful for the game.
Fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe played most of the game against Green Bay and started last week’s 29-0 victory over Detroit. Belichick joked that “they’re both right-handed” when asked about the similarities between Jones and Zappe on Wednesday. But Belichick also did not definitively say that Jones was the starter when he returns.
“We’ll see where he is today, I don’t know,” Belichick said to that question.
But Belichick also noted that Zappe’s play against the Lions doesn’t have anything to do with Jones’ return.
“Totally independent,” Belichick said.
Zappe has completed 75 percent of his passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Jones has completed 66 percent of his passes for 786 yards with two touchdowns and five picks so far in 2022.