Bill Belichick throws out plenty of sarcasm, but very little info on Mac Jones' injury status
FOXBORO -- Since using the phrase "day by day" a dozen times when talking about Mac Jones' ankle injury a few weeks ago, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has avoided using the phrase during his press conferences. On Friday, someone else used it for him.
While he didn't get to bring the phrase back, Belichick had plenty of sarcasm oozing from his Friday morning press conference. He didn't provide much insight into a potential return by Jones this weekend when the Patriots play the Browns in Cleveland, but had lengthy answers when generically explaining how the team handles injuries.
He did say that Jones was able to do a lot more on Thursday than he did last week, and Belichick expects the same from the injured quarterback when the team practices for the final time of Week 6 on Friday afternoon. But whether or not Jones can play Sunday likely won't be determined until Sunday.
"Nobody knows how they're going to feel tomorrow after what they do today," said Belichick. "We'll see where it is."
We'll have a clearer picture when Friday's injury report is released, and we'll have an even better indication on Saturday afternoon, when the Patriots travel to Cleveland for Sunday's game. Obviously, if Jones doesn't travel, he won't be playing. But if he does make the flight, it would make things a lot more interesting come Sunday.
Belichick said that Jones can be cleared to play at any time.
"Saturday is an important day in this whole process. I know everyone wants a definite answer [Friday], but that's totally unrealistic to be able to do that," said Belichick. "You don't know how a player is going to feel after three days of practice. Depending on what the volume is or the intensity is, you don't know that until they experience it. So we will see."
With that, ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss said that's why he prefers the "day by day" classification, which drew a big grin from Belichick and chuckles from the other reporters in the room.
"You took the words right out of my mouth. I've tried to avoid that phrase and give it a little break. I think I maximized it there," Belichick smirked. "It may be coming back."
When asked by NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry how the team goes about determining if a player is ready to go or not, Belichick wasn't interesting in giving away the process.
"Based on the information that is available, we can make any determination that is appropriate," said Belichick. "Part of that is how a player feels, what he's able to do or not able to do, the recover of what their previous output was or wasn't.
"But I'm not going into how we talk internally about players. Definitely not doing that, Phil. You can forget about that. You can file that right there," Belichick said, pointing to the trash. "I appreciate the opportunity to talk about Mac's medical status, but I'll skip that. I'll pass on it."
Belichick had a massive smile on his face when he thanked Perry again for that opportunity as he walked off the podium.
Jones has been a limited participant in New England's practices since last week, and was listed as doubtful on the team's Week 5 injury report ahead of a 29-0 win over the Lions. If Jones misses his third straight game, rookie Bailey Zappe would get another start at quarterback.
