Mac Jones taking injury situation "day by day," doesn't rule himself out for any games

BOSTON -- The news on Monday afternoon regarding the injury to Mac Jones' left ankle appeared to be quite bad. The quarterback's disposition early Monday evening, though, was notably more positive.

Jones spoke to the media on Monday around 5 p.m., and despite some reports that he suffered a "pretty severe" high ankle sprain and is likely headed toward surgery, the quarterback didn't appear to have reached any such conclusion just yet.

As a member of Bill Belichick's Patriots, Jones obviously kept almost every detail of his injury to himself. Still, he seemed to be taking a more optimistic viewpoint of his situation.

"I'm just kind of taking it day to day, and making sure everything's good," Jones said. "And honestly, any injury questions are Coach Belichick's thing. So I'm not here to answer them. I appreciate everyone kind of reaching out and looking after me, but it's kind of just a day-to-day thing, and I'm just trying to get better."

Jones said "I feel good" when asked for an update, and reiterated the "day to day" line several times during his 10-minute session with the media.

"I'm just gonna take it day by day and get my treatment and do what I do," he said. "So just see how it goes from there."

Jones was asked specifically if he's hoping to play next weekend in Green Bay.

"I think, like I said, just taking it day by day and see how I feel and do my treatment and kind of go through that, like I always do," Jones said. "Just focused on today. And then when tomorrow comes, focus on tomorrow. But definitely, any updates, like I said, you can talk to Coach about."

Jones was later asked for his confidence level on playing again this season. The answer was just about the same as the one about playing this week.

"Yeah, like I said, I'm just gonna take it day by day and kind of get my treatment and do what I do. So just see how I feel. And if you have any more like those type questions, just talk to Coach Belichick," Jones said. "I think, you know, he likes to answer those questions. So you can ask him."

When Jones was at Alabama, he saw both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts undergo tightrope surgery to repair their high-ankle sprains. Whether or not that experience is impacting Jones' current situation ... Jones wouldn't say.

"Yeah, I think everyone's different. And like I said, I'm just gonna take it day to day and kind of get my treatment and and see how I feel. And everyone's different, so I can't really speak for other people," Jones said. 

Jones was also asked if his usage of the phrase "day to day" instead of "week to week" meant the injury might not be severe.

"Yeah, I think like I said, just day by day, and just get my treatment and see how I feel," Jones said. "And a lot of times you don't really know exactly what happens and you just got to take it, get your treatment and you know, hopefully you feel better the next day and you just grow from there. So definitely want to do that and just try and get better."

Finally, Jones was asked if he had sought a second opinion on his ankle, which had been reported earlier in the day.

"Like I said, just trying to take it day by day and you know, make sure I get my health back and that's just getting my treatment and kind of going through the process of what can I do to be better," Jones said. "So I'm always going to do that regardless of the week, and this week is no different."

Jones was again asked directly in a follow-up question if he did seek a second opinion.

"Like I said, just, I'm just waiting on the time here and just kind of letting it play out and see how I feel. I don't really have a lot of information on that," Jones said. "And honestly, just trying to make it to tomorrow and get my rehab going there, too."

In terms of details, Jones obviously kept things light. But the fact that he hasn't resigned himself to having to miss significant time -- and the fact that he was speaking to the media at all -- indicates that he still has at least some positivity regarding his current situation.