FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After 72 hours of doubt and concern over the health of Mac Jones’ back, a region could finally relax Wednesday.
Jones said he’s good to go.
“Yeah,” the quarterback replied when asked if he expects to play Sunday at Pittsburgh. “I’m good.”
The back spasms Jones suffered at the end of last Sunday’s loss at Miami, which initially led to in-stadium X-rays and further testing in Foxboro, were not enough to sideline him Wednesday. The Patriots listed Jones as a full practice participant on their first report of the week. Jones said he’s been following a “normal” treatment plan, which seems to have yielded immediate results.
Jones showed no physical limitations at the start of practice. He twisted his back and bent down during warmups. He threw a few short passes.
“(My back) feels good,” he said. “Everything feels good. Just keeping it warm and throwing the football.”
Jones should need all of his strength against a Steelers defense that forced five turnovers in Cincinnati last weekend. Pittsburgh escaped with a 23-20 win largely thanks to its defense, which started the game with a pick-six. That interception belonged to safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, a former teammate of Jones’ at Alabama.
Jones had high praise for Fitzpatrick, who will surely be looking to seize on the quarterback’s mistakes Sunday.
“Minkah, he was the epitome of a great football player and person,” Jones said Wednesday. “I looked up to him a lot.”
Last weekend, Jones got sacked twice and intercepted once. He finished 21-of-30 for 213 yards and a touchdown. It was unclear if or how the back spasms affected his performance. Jones was clobbered on a fourth-quarter roughing the passer penalty, but later connected with Kendrick Bourne on a 41-yard pass, the team’s longest gain of the day.
Teammates have since remarked about his toughness, including pass rusher Matt Judon.
“I love how Mac leads the offense and gets up after tough hits and goes right back out there and continues to compete,” Judon said Wednesday. “That’s what you want as a leader, period. But definitely from your quarterback.”
In college, Jones first made a name for himself by playing through a hit he took in the 2020 Citrus Bowl that knocked a tooth out and ripped a patch half off his jersey. At the time, he was a backup to Tua Tagovailoa, who had suffered a season-ending hip injury weeks earlier. The following season, Jones set NCAA records as Alabama’s starter.
Now in his second year as the Patriots’ starter, Jones will be looking to build off a so-so opener where the offense scored just seven points. He sees all of the Patriots’ mistakes in Miami as fixable, and maintained his preseason optimism about an offense that has yet to show continuous on-field progress.
“I think we all feel pretty good about it, honestly,” Jones said. “I think early on we were trying to iron some things out. But at the end of the day, when we watch the tape and when everyone does what they’re supposed to do it’s a good play, and when we don’t it’s just not a good play.”
He continued: “It’s more about: Can everybody do their job to stack up good plays? Can I get it to the right guy who makes his yards after catch? Can we block up front? The blitzes, the stunts, all that stuff. So it’s what we’re working through. Once we can do that, we’ll be good.”
Of course, the Steelers, with a famously blitz-happy defense, won’t make it easy on Jones. Pittsburgh sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow seven times last Sunday and baited him into four interceptions. Jones knows he’ll need to be sharp to win, and the Patriots’ offensive line must have his back.
“Super talented defense, they play a lot of different coverages, definitely fly to the ball. Obviously Minkah does a great job. … I have a lot of respect for him and all the guys on their defense,” Jones said. “They’ve got playmakers all over the field, and it’s a really good defense to go against.”
