Mac Jones has now missed three games to the high ankle sprain suffered on the final offensive play of the Week 3 loss to the Ravens.
In his absence, fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe has done a more than admirable job, including a 2-0 record as the starter the last two weeks against the Lions and Browns.
Meanwhile, Jones has made clear strides in his rehab and recovery, including making the trip to Cleveland last Sunday before being listed among New England’s gameday inactives. Still, Jones practicing on a limited basis last week and traveling with the team would seem to indicate that he’s making significant strides toward a return to action.
In that light, first-year Patriots quarterbacks coach Joe Judge was asked during his Tuesday morning Zoom with local reporters what he needed to see from Jones before the second-year starter was ready to get back on the game field.
“Well I’m not the doctors and I’m not the head coach. So those decisions are above my head,” Judge said. “My job is to prepare Mac every day as if he is playing. He does a terrific job of coming in every day, staying up to date on the information and really getting ahead on the opponents. He prepares every day as if he’s taking every snap. I think that’s a tribute to how he works, the mentality and competitiveness he has. He’s doing everything he can to get himself back as fast as possible.”
A follow-up question focused on Jones’ ability to move in the pocket and, most importantly, get out of harm’s way if he were to get back into full-contact game action.
“Again, I’d say that’s something more on the head coach’s plate to be honest with you,” Judge reiterated. “But in terms of, you know, when you look at player coming back from injury I think generally two things you are concerned with as a coach. That’s, No. 1, can they hurt it any worse? You never want to put a player in a position to be worse off. Then No. 2 would be can they protect themselves? Again, these are things that come up in practice and what you see. That’s an evaluation you have to make with any player. Obviously a healthy player is a litter bit easier to evaluate and guys coming off injuries you have to see where they are at within their rehab and how they are moving. But, again, I deflect…those decisions are made by people above me, the head coach and the medical staff.”
While Jones did not get the go-ahead to play in Cleveland, Judge did note that having the Pro Bowler on the sideline was a positive for the first-time QB coach.
“He showed a lot of great leadership this weekend, he really did,” Judge said of Jones’ presence in the bench area at FirstEnergy Stadium. “And you always want a guy like Mac, obviously he’s a captain on the team, you want him down there. You want him with the team. You want him in uniform.
He wasn’t available this week for certain reasons. But I’d say having him down there is a very positive impact on the team. It was good for the other players.
“I know as a coach just having conversations on the bench with Mac throughout the series, looking at pictures together, seeing things he’s picking up on. Those conversations, talking with players in-game, you’ve always have to value their perspective of what they’re seeing out there, the guys playing, the guys on the sideline watching staying in tune. Because they are looking at it through a different lens. It’s interesting when you can share perspectives with each other, coach and player, how you see things differently sometimes.
But it’s important as coaches to listen to the players, because you are going to learn a whole lot more from them if you do.”
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