Since neither Mac Jones nor Bill Belichick is going to give us anything, Patriots fans and media members alike have to try and piece together clues about the quarterback's injury situation.
At this point, really the only thing the public knows about Jones' ailment is that it's a sprained ankle -- most likely on the side of severe. But it's still unclear how the sophomore signal-caller plans on treating the injury, which in turn casts uncertainty over Jones' timetable for return.
One apparent option for Jones is having tightrope surgery on the ankle, a procedure fellow Alabama products Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts had done during their collegiate careers. But Scott Zolak, a former Patriots quarterback who now works as a radio voice for the team, believes Jones isn't about to go under the knife.
"I have another developing thought here on this thing: As these days go by and you find out the injury report here, I do not think he's getting the surgery," Zolak said Wednesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Zolak & Bertrand." "If he was going to get the surgery and you have the connections he has with the people that have had it -- also, not everybody is a candidate for it. He could get the surgery -- surgery always helps fix it -- but this thing can heal on its own."
Zolak's take is in lockstep with a recent report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, who claims Jones prefers rehabbing the injury over surgery. And judging from everything he's gathered about the situation, NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran is under the impression we won't see Jones back on the football field until around Halloween.
Jones' first go-around on the inactive list likely will be Sunday when New England visits the Green Bay Packers. If the 24-year-old can't go, as expected, Brian Hoyer will start for the Patriots at Lambeau Field.
