The Bailey Zappe era could be coming to a halt with New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones reportedly expecting to be ready to play in the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears.
Jones, who has been sidelined with a high ankle sprain since the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, came close to returning last week against the Cleveland Browns. He even made the trip with the team, but the decision was made to hold him out for another week in hopes of getting him closer to 100 percent.
The extra time off obviously helped, and the second-year quarterback could be mere days away from making his return. On Thursday morning, ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote:
“New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones expects to be available for the team’s “Monday Night Football” game against the visiting Chicago Bears, sources told ESPN.”
Per Reiss, the final hurdle will have to be cleared this week at practice.
For all of the talk surrounding a possible quarterback controversy in New England, there’s little doubt that Jones will be the starter if he’s ready to play, even if the job comes with a shorter leash.
It’ll be back to riding in the backseat for Zappe, who did a tremendous job helping to keep the team afloat in Jones’ absence.
