Mac Jones reportedly will be healthy enough to play for the Patriots on Monday, but could factors beyond his control keep him off the field?
New England is scheduled to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night with kickoff at Gillette Stadium scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET. And, as of Thursday morning, multiple forecasts indicated at least a chance of rain in the Foxboro, Mass. area.
AccuWeather currently lists precipitation chances at 91% in the daytime and 94% at night, including 84% during the evening with estimated rainfall of 0.20 inches. Chances of thunderstorms also are at 56% for nighttime.
That said, people always should follow their local meteorologists over online weather services, as they focus on specific areas when building their forecasts. Moreover, much can change between now and Monday evening, and it still is too early to know with any certainty whether it will be raining while the Patriots and Bears are playing.
Meteorologist Matt Noyes of WBTS-CD currently projects a 70% chain of rain for Monday. You can click here for his full Thursday morning weathercast.
So, what does this all mean for Jones, who still is recovering from a severe high-ankle sprain?
First of all, thanks to Bill Belichick, we still don't know whether the Patriots internally have decided to keep playing rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, who's played well the last few weeks, or are comitted to Jones as the starting quarterback. We also don't know whether New England is intent on giving Jones as much rest as possible and keeping him out until he's fully recovered. Pro Football Focus' Doug Kyed on Wednesday reported that Jones was 85-90% recovered.
However, it's fair to wonder whether wet conditions and a soggy field could dissuade the Patriots from putting Jones on the field Monday night.
On Oct. 5, (first practice before the Detroit Lions game) the Patriots made the ultra-rare move of holding their practice indoors. It had rained heavily early that morning, but there only was a light drizzle/mist by the time players entered the Socios.com Fieldhouse. Jones later was listed as a limited participant in practice.
His ankle surely was more unstable then than it is now, but the Patriots could exercise extreme caution and not risk playing the 24-year-old in iffy conditions. That's pure speculation, though.
Again, it's entirely possible that it doesn't rain Monday and that weather proves not to be a factor in the Week 7 contest. But current forecasts, and the Patriots' quarterback situation as a whole, suggest this situation is worth keeping an eye on.
