FOXBOROUGH — Mac Jones' status for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers is uncertain after he suffered an ankle injury in Week 3. One thing that is certain, though, is how his New England Patriots teammates view his toughness.

Earlier Thursday, it was reported by the NFL Network's Mike Giardi that Jones was telling his teammates to not count him out from playing against the Packers as he was participating in game planning and operating as if he had a chance to play.

Patriots running back Damien Harris, who played with Jones at Alabama too, noted Jones' toughness on Thursday.

“Mac's an incredibly tough kid,” Harris said. “He's a tough player. He's a tough competitor, absolutely.”

Harris, though, took a similar approach to the quarterback and Bill Belichick when asked about the validity of Thursday's report.

“I don't know much about it,” Harris said. “I don't have too much to say about it. Like you said, Mac's a tough kid. I know he's doing everything he can to get back out there.”

Patriots tight end Hunter Henry gave the exact same answer Jones and Belichick did when asked about how he and the rest of the team are handling the quarterback's ankle injury.

“Just taking it day-by-day,” Henry said with a smile.

Later Thursday, a player texted Giardi that it might not be the best thing for Jones to play on Sunday.

“Love Mac. Tough, tough, tough guy,” the unnamed player texted Giardi. “But he's hurting pretty good. Hope everyone's smart about this. It's a long season.”

If the Patriots do what the unnamed player said they should do in handling Jones' situation, Brian Hoyer will get the start Sunday against the Packers. Both Harris and Henry expressed a strong belief in Hoyer's quarterbacking abilities.

“We've got confidence in everybody in the locker room,” Harris said. “Everybody has a job to do. So, everybody has to show up every day and be ready to do their job, ready to improve. If everybody in the locker room does that, we're confident that we'll continue to improve and continue to get better throughout the rest of the season.”

“Yeah, he's played in this league for a long time,” Henry added. “You don't stick around in this league for a long time unless you're a great player and a smart football player. He's a guy that we love having in the locker room. He's a great guy to have, definitely on this team.”