CLEVELAND — The New England Patriots are holding out hope that quarterback Mac Jones will return from his ankle injury on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
They might have good reason for the optimism.
The NFL requires teams to downgrade questionable players who don’t travel to out on the injury report on Saturday afternoons. While Nelson Agholor (hamstring) and Jonathan Jones (ankle) were ruled out, Jones and running back Damien Harris (hamstring) weren’t, which indicates they made the trip to Cleveland.
Mac Jones didn’t travel to Green Bay two weeks ago while nursing his high ankle sprain, so it’s unlikely he’s just making the trip as a spectator.
“Mac is making good improvement,” Coach Bill Belichick said Friday before practice. “If it’s better on Saturday than it was Friday, then maybe it’s a game-day workout. If it’s worse, then we would probably downgrade the player. If it feels great (Friday and Saturday), then we’re good to go. That’s why Saturday is an important day in this whole process.”
The Patriots (2-3) face the Browns (2-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Browns will definitely be using a backup quarterback, with Deshaun Watson serving his 11-game suspension. His replacement, Jacoby Brissett, looks back fondly on his rookie season with New England, where he was thrust into a starting job, was schooled in the Patriot Way as one of Tom Brady’s understudies and was part of a Super Bowl championship team.
After being drafted in the third round by New England, Brissett started two games when Brady was suspended by the NFL for the Deflategate scandal and backup Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt.
Although he was only there one season – he got traded to Indianapolis the following year – Brissett remains grateful for the early opportunity to play for arguably the best coach and with the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
“A lot of good memories,” he said. “I got my first start there. Some of the guys there are still on the team, so I know those guys. Obviously, great coach. Good players, good vets, good guys who understand the system that they’ve been running for a while, so yeah, a really good team.”
It’s been a while since Brissett was in New England, and although he’s changed, the Patriots remain the same disciplined, no-nonsense team they’ve always been under Belichick, who began his coaching career in Cleveland.
Brissett may have been a short-timer in New England, but he thinks his brief stint gives him a little edge.
“Hopefully it does,” Brissett said. “I have some understanding of the defense. Obviously, it’s been a couple years since I’ve been there. Hopefully it pays off a little bit.”
Cleveland’s defense, however, has not provided much help. The Browns have been gouged for a total of 440 yards rushing the past two weeks, with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Chargers taking turns flattening a unit that has been disappointing through five games.
Coordinator Joe Woods vowed to get his defense mended, and the Browns traded for linebacker Deion Jones following last week’s loss.
“I promise everybody, we’re trying to do everything we can,” said Woods, who has become a target for disgruntled fans. ”Right now, it’s not going well in terms of the consistency.”
Cornerback Greg Newsome II is confident Woods will figure things out.
“Coach Woods never changes,” he said. “The heat is temporary. When you find a way to fix some of the things we’ve been fixing, it all can turn around.”
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