From Doug Kyed. I chuckled as I began reading
MAC JONES GETTING CLOSER TO FULL HEALTH
Jones has missed the
New England Patriotsā last three games due to a high ankle sprain, but one source close to the situation put his health at 85-to-90% as of Tuesday afternoon. Jones suffered the injury at the end of Week 3, and his timeline for recovery was expected to take six weeks. The Patriots will get an extra day of rest before taking on the
Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium on Monday night in Week 7. Ultimately, the decision on Jones' availability for Monday will continue to come from the teamās medical staff. Jones has been open to playing through injury.
The Patriots are 2-1 in Jonesā absence. They lost a Week 4 matchup against the
Green Bay Packers in which
Brian Hoyer started but suffered a concussion early in the game. Rookie
Bailey Zappe relieved Hoyer and took the game to overtime, but some conservative decisions by New England came back to bite the team in the loss.
Zappe has gone on to win his two starts against the
Detroit Lions and
Cleveland Browns, and head coach Bill Belichick hasnāt disclosed whether Jones will regain his job when fully healthy.
As one source described the approach, whether or not Belichick is actually serious that Zappe could continue to start when Jones is fully ready, it would be best for Jones to interpret it that way.
āCompetition is a good thing.ā
And no,
Belichick isnāt doing this because Jones is getting big-headed or āneeds to be humbled,ā as The Boston Globeās Ben Volin surmised Monday. Jones is a confident player, but there's no concern about his level of commitment. Jones eats and (barely) sleeps football.
However, it has been interesting to see the Patriotsā offense shift under Zappe. As I wrote in Tuesdayās ā
buy or sellā piece, New England is
leaning much more on play action, screens and short passes with Zappe at quarterback, and thatās led to both fewer big-time throws and turnover-worthy plays from the rookie.
The Patriots installed elements of a new scheme this summer under the leadership of Belichick, offensive line coach Matt Patricia and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, and New England ran it with Jones at QB through the first three weeks of the season. Then when Jones went down with his ankle injury, they went back to a simplified version of their offense with Zappe and found success. New England ranks third in EPA per play over the last two weeks. They were 22nd in Jones' three starts.
A source indicated that Jones would welcome a middle ground between the aggressive approach New England was using with him at quarterback and the safer and more efficient plays Zappe has been running. More play action, in particular, would benefit Jones. In Sundayās win over the Browns, it was interesting to see the Patriots use play action to get their two tight ends involved.
Hunter Henry and
Jonnu Smith combined for two catches on three targets for 84 yards with a touchdown using play action.
For Zappe, as I wrote in Tuesdayās column, one high-ranking AFC personnel executive believes New England will eventually be able to fetch a draft pick in a trade for the 2022 fourth-round pick. One reason why? Heās proven that heās not simply a one-game wonder. It was significant to see Zappe not only continuing to play well in Week 6 but also significantly improving. He also was able to spread the ball around in New Englandās offense on Sunday.
The Patriots traded quarterback
Jacoby Brissett to the
Indianapolis Colts for wide receiver
Phillip Dorsett before the 2017 season, which was just Brissettās second year in the NFL. Itās possible the Patriots could take a similar approach if they elect to trade Zappe, but it was a slightly different situation. Brissett hadnāt played as well as Zappe as a rookie in 2016 and struggled during training camp the following summer. Zappe could be a cheap and effective backup for Jones through the 2025 season.
Itās interesting to look back at the trade that netted New England Zappe during the 2022 NFL Draft. The
Carolina Panthers traded up from No. 137 overall using a 2023 third-round pick in a deal with the Patriots for the 94th overall pick. Carolina wound up selecting quarterback
Matt Corral, whoās now out for the season with a foot injury, out of Ole Miss at No. 94 overall.
The Patriots stayed put at No. 137 and selected Zappe. The third-round pick that New England received in the deal is currently the 64th overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
What a steal.
Breaking down the latest news and rumors heading into Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season, including Mac Jones' return to full health.
www.pff.com
) yesterday that mac would be playing
