Mystery remains around the New England Patriots starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the New York Jets with head coach Bill Belichick refusing to declare his hand.
Mac Jones was benched after three series for backup Bailey Zappe in the Patriots' 33-14 home defeat to the Chicago Bears on Monday.
Belichick insisted that decision was not performance-based after the game, alluding to the fact Jones was returning in Week 7 following a three-game absence due to a high ankle sprain.
Jones was not listed on the Patriots' injury report this week, yet Belichick declined to elaborate on the situation on Wednesday ahead of practice.
"We'll see how it goes today," Belichick told reporters five times when asked about the QB situation.
Onlookers at Patriots practice on Wednesday claimed that Jones took the vast majority of first team reps in an indication he will start on Sunday.
Jones, who was taken with the 15th pick in last year's NFL Draft, has started four games this season, completing 67 of 103 attempts for 799 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
The second-year quarterback admitted that he had not been told by Belichick if he would start against the Jets but insisted he was fine with that.
"He's done a good job, been very open with me," Jones said. "I think that's all you can ask for, clear communication. Putting all the rat poison away and playing the best I can play and becoming the best quarterback I can be.
"Like I said, those are things that we want to work through as the week goes along. I don’t really care if they tell me or not, it's just important that I'm ready to go. Just as Zappe is ready to go.
"It's the same way every week, you want to prepare as a starter… I plan to start every game I've ever played in."
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
OJ Simpson dies aged 76
OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.
News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”
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