Patriots Quarterback Mac Jones Pushing to Play in Week 4

The New England Patriots could have a shocking starter at quarterback in their Week 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. According to NFL Networks' Mike Giardi, second-year quarterback Mac Jones is pushing to play despite his painful Week 3 injury.

Per sources, Mac Jones is in the facility and participating in game planning. The #Patriots QB has to told multiple teammates to not count him out of this weekend's game at Green Bay, and is still operating as if he has a chance. Practice is scheduled for around 12:35 today.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) September 29, 2022

Jones suffered a severe high-ankle sprain on the Patriots' final offensive play of their Week 3 37-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Initial reports had the young passer missing multiple games, but quarterbacks playing through the injury isn't totally unprecedented. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn't miss any time due to a high-ankle sprain in 2019, nor did Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2016.

Should Jones play in Week 4, he'll look to improve on a middling start to the season. After leading all rookies in passing yards and touchdowns in 2021, Jones has been alarmingly mistake-prone to begin the 2022 NFL season, tossing a league-high five interceptions and losing a fumble across his three games. If the Patriots want to stand a chance against the Green Bay Packers this week, they'll need Jones to play better with his ankle injury than he did without it.