It turns out there might not be a quarterback controversy after all for the New England Patriots.

Mac Jones will regain his role as the Patriots' starting quarterback whenever he returns fully healthy from his high ankle sprain, The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported Thursday.

Jones' return could be really soon, too. The second-year quarterback expects to be ready to play in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported. Jones' ankle has shown steady improvement as he expects to return within the original four-to-six-week timeline he received for his injury, according to NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry.

During Jones' absence, the Patriots have played their best stretch of football in the relatively young season. With fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe at the helm, New England has gone 2-1, with its lone loss coming in overtime against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4.

Zappe and the rest of the Patriots' offense have also played better so far in the three games Jones has missed than they did in the first three games of the season. Zappe has thrown for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception with a 111.4 passer rating, the best among all quarterbacks who've thrown at least 70 passes this season. New England's offense has also scored or attempted a field goal on 13 of its 18 drives in the two games Zappe has started, excluding end-of-half kneel-downs.

Jones struggled in the Patriots' first three games of the season, throwing for 786 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 76.2 passer rating.

As outsiders have speculated whether or not Jones should get his job back when he returns from injury, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he expects Jones will be truthful when talking about how his ankle feels.

“I have total trust in Mac and our conversations over the last couple of years, but we’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said Wednesday. “I don’t know.”

Zappe isn't changing his approach to the upcoming game as he appears to be heading back to the bench.

“As far as preparation, nothing's going to change,” Zappe said Wednesday. “I'm going to keep doing the same thing I've been doing for the last seven weeks now. With the Monday game, we kind of get an extra day to get on to the Bears. Just this week working on some things that we saw the last few weeks of the film. Like fundamental-wise, working on that in practice but other than that nothing's really going to change at all.”

While several people wonder if there's any sort of animosity between the two young quarterbacks, Zappe said it has been anything but that.

“He's helped a lot,” Zappe said of Jones. “Of course, he's been in the league for a whole other year above me. I've been able to pick his brain. I've been able to ask him questions, and he's been giving me great feedback answering them. He's a lot of help.”

Following their Week 7 matchup with the Bears on Monday night, the Patriots will begin a crucial stretch of games that could determine the fate of their season. They face the New York Jets in Weeks 8 and 11 and will host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 ahead of their Thanksgiving matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.