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Patriots quarterback Mac Jones did a brief media scrum in the Patriots locker room on Friday afternoon.

As expected, Jones had nothing new to report on his status for Monday’s game against the Chicago Bears. But, echoing a recent report by Jeff Howe that he’ll be the Patriots’ starting quarterback once he’s healthy enough to play, Jones sounded like it’s simply a matter of getting his ankle back to playable condition.

“It feels pretty good. Just trying to work through all the stuff, being able to play in an NFL football game,” Jones said. “I want to be able to go out there and help the team. Once I’m there, I’m there. I’m definitely making progress and we’ve done a good job with the treatment.”

The question is whether he’ll be cleared to play in time for Monday night. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported earlier this week that he’s “expected to be available” for the game on Monday Night Football and had a final hurdle to clear in practice. Mike Giardi of the NFL Network said Friday that Jones needs to “show the team during practice and workouts that he can protect himself both inside and outside the pocket” in order to be medically cleared to play.

And even if Jones is cleared, it’ll still be up to Bill Belichick whom he starts at QB against the Bears. But even Belichick himself has implied that he simply needs to know Jones is healthy enough to play, especially considering he’s still not going to be at 100 percent just four weeks removed from a high-ankle sprain.

“Mac still wasn’t able to play [against the Browns],” Belichick. “We’ll continue to evaluate him and see how he’s doing physically.”

Since the Patriots play Monday, their final injury report and game statuses for the week doesn’t come out until Saturday. It’s possible Jones is listed as “Questionable,” which is essentially 50/50. If he’s off the injury report altogether, that might be it. Zappe Fevah is about to go away.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.