Mike Reiss of ESPN joins Zolak & Bertrand in studio. Reiss shares his thoughts on the injury to Mac Jones, the timetable of his return and why the timing of the injury might be the best possible scenario.
What he's hearing about Mac's ankle
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots is helped off the field during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“I think the next decision, guys, is just whether he’s going to have the surgery. And so we know that he’s got a severe high ankle sprain. And I think just trying to get all the information that he feels like he can make the best decision for himself and that’ll be the next step. And if it happens, I would think it happens pretty quickly. And then it’s just a matter of when he could come back. I’m sort of operating on the assumption that, you know, they’re looking at multiple weeks here.”
Is there any "push and pull" between the Patriots and Mac's camp?
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots jogs towards the sideline after an injury during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
I haven’t heard anything along those lines. And, you know, to me, part of me would be surprised if if that was the case. But I’m also not naive to think that these things don’t happen, you know. So, I guess I’d be surprised if that was the case. I think the main thing to me with Mac and just the whole Patriots thing is just trying to get him comfortable doesn’t look the same to me this season than last season. And I don’t know how forcing him back out on the field if let’s just play the hypothetical if that’s what we’re saying that they would be do. And I don’t know how that makes him more comfortable when he already doesn’t look.
Why Mac's injury might be the best case scenario
In games, practices and meetings, Brian Hoyer (5) is almost always at Mac Jones’s side. (Photo by David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports)
I go to the Cowboys. To me, that’s the ideal scenario. Cooper Rush comes in, you won two games with him, he kept you afloat until Dak Prescott gets back. I mean, we’re only talking about a small handful of games here and then you hopefully get Mac back, even though he’s going to be playing through that high ankle sprain at that time. So to me, it’s almost like, ‘can you just sort of buy yourself a little time here with Hoyer?’ I think this part of the schedule is maybe the best part of the schedule if you have to go through something like this. I actually think it’s the best case scenario just because I think we know what Brian is. Right. So if he catches lightning in a bottle. I think we know Brian’s level. So I think it might give Mac a chance to just step back, reset, reset and see it from the sideline and get himself to a better place.
