Jack Jones was the only player not spotted at Patriots practice on Thursday. Now we know why.

According to Jeff Howe, Jones is now set to be “out for some time with the hamstring injury that he suffered yesterday in practice, according to a source,” he said in a tweet on Thursday night. 

During his Wednesday morning press conference, Bill Belichick was asked if Jones was now available with his legal situation behind him after gun charges were dropped.

“Yes, he should be available,” Belichick said. Jones was a participant in team drills on Wednesday and looked fine, making a few nice grabs during early drills when the media is allowed to watch practice, but obviously, the injury could have come later on when practice was closed.

This is obviously a big blow to a Patriots secondary that still has a lot of questions heading into Sunday. To make matters worse, the Eagles’ loaded receiving core and MVP-caliber quarterback is coming to town. if Jones is going to miss several weeks, then that would mean not having him against Tua, Waddle, Hill and the Dolphins, then not having him against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Week 4 is Dak and the Cowboys. So, hopefully the injury isn’t too serious, considering the Patriots absolutely need all hands on deck to avoid a slow start to the season.

There’s always the possibility that the NFL was considering taking action over the incident and instead let the Patriots handle it internally, but it’s hard to imagine Bill Belichick would go along with that plan considering the challenge his team is facing early on. Jones is easily one of the most athletic players on the team, so his absence will be felt heavily and now puts more pressure on rookie Christian Gonzalez and the rest of the DB’s.