Report: Patriots QB Mac Jones expected to miss game vs Packers

Sep 27, 2022 - 12:04 AM

On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was officially diagnosed with a “severe” high ankle sprain. Per Schefter, this could require surgery to accelerate Jones’ timeline to return but Jones and the Patriots have yet to decide on a rehabilitation option as of yet. He also noted, “[Jones] is likely to miss multiple games.”

This is not a surprise, as Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported yesterday that Jones, who threw every pass that the Patriots attempted on Sunday, was aided down steps by his teammates when entering New England’s locker room after the game. Bedard added that Jones was “screaming in pain” in the process and photos of the event confirmed that Jones looked like he was in good amount of pain after the game.

Soon after, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that x-rays on Jones’ ankle came back negative, meaning that he didn’t break his ankle, and Schefter reported that the expectation was that Jones had a high ankle sprain. As Green Bay Packers fans know, inside linebacker Krys Barnes was placed on injured reserve earlier this season after he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain in the season-opener. While a high ankle sprain may not sound like the most serious injury, Jones’ “screams” and Barnes being carted off the field in an air cast can help put into perspective how painful the injury can be.

Assuming that Jones can’t play this week, New England will start Brian Hoyer against the Packers at Lambeau Field this week. Over his career, Hoyer has won 16 of his 39 starts and Sunday should mark only his third start in the last five seasons. Despite spending eight seasons with the Patriots, Hoyer has only started one game for the team, a loss in 2020.

Originally, the Packers opened up as 9.5-point favorites but are now up to 10.5-point favorites. The only game in the 2022 season to feature an 11-point or more favorite was in Week 2 when the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams hosted the Atlanta Falcons, a game that the Falcons covered in a 31-27 loss. Per VSiN’s tracking, 78 percent of the handle is on the Packers covering, the third-largest split of any game in Week 4. 96 percent of the money is also on the Packers’ moneyline.