Source: Scans on Pats QB Jones’ back ‘normal’

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Scans on New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones‘ back came back “normal,” a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

The back injury is not thought to be serious, according to the source, but the team will continue to monitor how Jones is feeling this week before Sunday’s road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jones experienced back spasms, according to the source.

Sources said Jones felt notably better upon his return to Massachusetts on Sunday night, and then Monday morning, compared to immediately after the team’s 20-7 season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Jones had his postgame news conference canceled and the team announced he had a back injury.

Coach Bill Belichick confirmed that Jones returned home with the team. Speaking on injuries in general, Belichick said Monday morning: “I know everybody’s hungry for an up-to-the-second update, but the best way to handle these situations is always to give a little time, see what happens, run whatever tests or analysis need to be run, and then go from there.”

After Sunday’s game, in which Jones finished 21-of-30 for 213 yards with one touchdown and one interception, the quarterback was seen walking under his own power to the X-ray room flanked by security personnel.

He spent about five minutes in the room before walking back to the team’s locker room. Shortly thereafter, a Patriots media official announced that Jones wouldn’t be holding his news conference, adding that he had a back injury.

The Patriots said Jones would meet with the media virtually on Monday.

Jones, who is backed up by veteran Brian Hoyer and rookie Bailey Zappe, played the entire game.

He was sacked twice, taking a big hit in the second quarter on a blindside blitz on which he fumbled the ball and the Dolphins returned it for a touchdown. He also absorbed a crushing blow from two Dolphins defenders — one toward his upper body, one near his legs — on a fourth-quarter play in which Miami was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty.