At last, confirmation from the head coach himself.
During his pregame radio interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Scott Zolak, Bill Belichick announced Mac Jones will start at quarterback for the New England Patriots in Monday night's matchup with the Chicago Bears. Rookie Bailey Zappe will serve as Jones' backup.
"Mac will start for us tonight," Belichick said. "Looking forward to it."
Jones missed the previous three games with a high ankle sprain suffered during the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Zappe helped New England surge back into AFC contention in his absence, winning each of his first two NFL starts.
The Patriots enter at 3-3 after scoring back-to-back victories over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. The Bears sit at 2-4, with losses in each of their last three games.
New England also will get running back Damien Harris, cornerback Jonathan Jones, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy back from injury but will be without right tackle Isaiah Wynn, defensive tackle Christian Barmore, receiver Kendrick Bourne and linebacker Josh Uche, all of whom are inactive.
Kickoff at Gillette Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
UPDATE: Jones will start Monday night. But will he be the only Patriots quarterback to see action? Maybe not. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the following shortly before kickoff:
