Mac Jones said his injured back feels better, and the Patriots quarterback hopes to be ready for the team’s Week 2 game this Sunday at Pittsburgh.
A day after suffering the injury in the Patriots’ season-opening loss in Miami, Jones talked to reporters on Monday afternoon for the first time since getting hurt and offered an optimistic outlook.
“I definitely feel better,” Jones said. “I want to be able to be ready to play against Pittsburgh and I feel good. …
“I wasn’t feeling too hot after the game, but I definitely feel a lot better.”
The situation does not seem dire for Jones, who didn’t miss a snap in Sunday’s loss. The quarterback had X-rays on Sunday that reportedly came back negative. He’s dealing with back spasms, according to NFL Network.
Jones said he believes he suffered the injury in the fourth quarter, when he was drilled by Dolphins safety Jevon Holland after making a throw that resulted in a roughing the passer penalty. Jones landed hard on his back on the play and was slow to get up, but stayed in the game.
“I just kept playing and tried to work through it,” Jones said. “It’s football. You’re going to get hit. I’ve been hit harder before and will probably get hit harder in the future, so it’s part of the game and it’s all good.”
Jones said he’ll be ready when the Patriots return to practice on Wednesday. He said he doesn’t have a history of any back problems and didn’t seem too concerned about it moving forward.
“I think I’ll be fine,” Jones said. “The trainers looked at it. I haven’t had any issues with it before and don’t expect any issues now, so everything’s good.”
