Mac Jones reportedly declined Patriots' advice to have ankle surgery

There's a new twist in the saga regarding injured New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. 

According to Khari Thompson of Audacy, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" that the Patriots originally wanted Jones to go under the knife to address the reported high-ankle sprain that's kept the second-year pro out of action since Week 3. 

"[The Patriots] wanted him to get the 'tightrope' [surgery]," Breer explained. "Initially when he got hurt with the high-ankle sprain, it was thought to be a pretty severe high-ankle sprain. He's seen guys go through this, and he thought, 'I'm going to be better off just rehabbing the injury.' And there was some level of disagreement there."

Jones watched as rookie signal-caller Bailey Zappe guided the Patriots to back-to-back victories over his first two NFL starts. Meanwhile, head coach Bill Belichick has repeatedly refused to commit to starting a healthy Jones whenever the No. 15 pick from the 2021 NFL Draft is cleared to face live defenses again. 

"I think Mac's getting his job back," Breer added during the segment, "but I do think there's a little bit of a lesson being taught here. We're putting a fourth-round rookie out of Western Kentucky out there. Look what happens when he does what we tell him to."

The 3-3 Patriots don't play again until they host the 2-4 Chicago Bears in the Week 7 "Monday Night Football" game, and Belichick may not announce his starting quarterback for that contest until Sunday at the earliest. It is, of course, entirely possible Jones won't be 100% early next week, but NESN's Zack Cox noted that Patriots quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said on Tuesday the 24-year-old is "doing everything he can to get himself back as fast as possible" ahead of the Chicago matchup. 

Judge also praised Jones for offering in-game insight and mentorship to Zappe during this past Sunday's 38-15 win at the Cleveland Browns.