Wednesday must have been a pretty good day for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.

Before practice on Wednesday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a standard reply at his press conference when asked about the team’s quarterback situation: “We’ll see how it goes today.”

In his opening remarks for his Thursday press conference, Belichick said: “Mac took a full workload yesterday. I expect him to be fully available here for the game, ready to go, so that’s really it for that.”

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And that, Belichick explained after a few more questions, meant Jones would be the Patriots’ starter when New England takes on the New York Jets on Sunday.

And is the former Alabama All-American re-established as the team’s starting quarterback, the position he held for every game of his NFL career until an ankle injury put him on the shelf for three weeks?

“It’s hypothetical,” Belichick said. “Like, here we are today. We’re practicing for the Jets. It’s Thursday getting ready for the Jets. That’s where we are. Anything that happens beyond that, it’s not current. I’m not going to get into it. That’s as helpful as I can be.”

Coming off a trip to the Pro Bowl as a rookie, Jones got hurt on Sept. 25 on the Patriots’ final offensive snap against the Baltimore Ravens — a 37-26 loss that left the team with a 1-2 record.

Veteran Brian Hoyer started the next game, but he sustained a concussion in the first quarter. In his NFL debut, Bailey Zappe finished the 27-24 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, then went all the way under center as the Patriots defeated the Detroit Lions 29-0 on Oct. 9 and the Cleveland Browns 38-15 on Oct. 16 as New England evened its record at 3-3.

Jones returned to the starting lineup on Monday night against the Chicago Bears, but after two three-and-outs and an interception, he gave way to Zappe and didn’t play again.

Belichick said Jones wasn’t benched. The plan had been to play both quarterbacks against Chicago.

“We started the game the way we wanted to start it last week,” Belichick said on Thursday. “We talked about the way it ended up, so this week’s a different week. It’s a different situation. Mac will be our quarterback.”

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Upon entering Thursday’s game, Zappe triggered two touchdown drives, but then lost a fumble and threw two interceptions as the Patriots fell to the Bears 33-14.

Belichick said the commitment to Jones came with his return to health. Wednesday was Jones’ first practice without an injury designation since he got hurt.

“He’s ready to play,” Belichick said. “He was ready to play last week, just didn’t feel like the full game. This week, it’s a different situation.”

The Patriots play the Jets at noon CDT Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New England will be seeking its 13th consecutive victory over New York.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.