FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Patriots quarterback Mac Jones walked with a small limp during the opening period of Thursday’s practice, still hindered by the high ankle sprain he suffered almost two weeks ago against Baltimore.

It was the third straight practice Jones has attended, starting with last Friday’s session where he made stationary throws but was listed as a nonparticipant. The Patriots listed him as a limited participant on their practice report Wednesday, when he took small dropbacks and was joined by rookie Bailey Zappe and practice-squad veteran Garrett Gilbert.

Jones’ primary backup, Brian Hoyer, will not be an option for New England. He was placed on injured reserve Thursday with a concussion after the veteran was knocked out in the second quarter of the Patriots’ 27-24 overtime loss to Green Bay last week following a blind side hit by Rashan Gary.

Hoyer was making his first start since 2020, filling in for Jones. Now it continues to trend toward Zappe making his first start of the season on Sunday against Detroit.

Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy (shoulder) and tight end Jonnu Smith (ankle) warmed up on Thursday after sitting out Wednesday’s walkthrough.

GIANTS: The Giants are re-signing former All-Pro safety Landon Collins to the practice squad, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News.

Collins, 28, was the Giants’ best player in a win over the L.A. Rams in London in 2016. He was one of the team’s best players that season, the last time they made the playoffs.

He will now meet the Giants overseas in London as they prepare to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The three-time Pro Bowler rejoins the team that drafted him in the second round of 2015.

Similar to other veterans who have signed with a Giants recently, Collins starts by signing on the practice squad and presumably will be elevated sometime in the coming weeks to supplement their defense.

He signed a megadeal with Washington in 2019 as a free agent after the Giants let him walk out of the door and never flourished with the division rival.

BEARS: Jerry Vainisi, the Chicago Bears’ general manager when they won their lone Super Bowl championship, has died, the team announced on Wednesday. He was 80.

The team said he died Tuesday in suburban Oak Park, Illinois.

A Chicago native who attended Georgetown University and Chicago-Kent College of Law, Vainisi joined the Bears in 1972 as controller and worked as the team’s treasurer and lawyer. He became the team’s general manager in 1983 after Jim Finks resigned.

Vainisi remained in that role for four years. He oversaw contract negotiations and worked with Coach Mike Ditka and player personnel director Bill Tobin to run the team.

“I will always appreciate the few years I spent with Jerry and am forever grateful for his decision to hire me as the Bears controller in 1983, which started my 40-year career with the Bears,” team President Ted Phillips said in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with him and his entire family.”

The Bears went 47-17 during during Vainisi’s tenure and fielded arguably the greatest team the league has seen in 1985.

With Hall of Famers Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent leading one of the most ferocious defenses in NFL history and Walter Payton taking handoffs, the Bears shuffled their way to a 15-1 record and the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory. It was Chicago’s first NFL championship since 1963 and the ninth in all.

PANTHERS: Matt Rhule remains confident he can turn around the Carolina Panthers even as pressure mounts on the team’s third-year coach to win.

Rhule is 11-26 in three seasons with the Panthers, and the team is off to another rocky start (1-3) with their offense ranked last in the league despite the offseason addition of 2018 No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield.

The Panthers have lost 10 of their past 11 games going back to last season and are just 5-14 at home overall under Rhule.

Panthers owner David Tepper preached patience in April, giving Rhule his “full support” despite back-to-back five-win seasons. But Tepper hasn’t addressed reporters since the start of the season regarding Rhule’s future.

Rhule is three years into a seven-year, $62 million contract, meaning Tepper would have to eat more than half of that contract if he decided to fire the former Baylor coach – although money likely isn’t much of an issue for the NFL’s second-wealthiest owner.

CHIEFS: Kansas City could be missing kicker Harrison Butker for the fourth consecutive game because of swelling that won’t abate in the left ankle that he sprained in the opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chiefs used Matt Ammendola as a fill-in for Butker for the first two games of his absence, but he was released after missing a field goal and an extra point against Indianapolis. Matthew Wright was signed as insurance last week and was perfect on extra points while hitting both of his field goals in a win at Tampa Bay.

FALCONS: Atlanta released starting defensive tackle Anthony Rush in a surprise move Thursday.

Rush had seven tackles while starting each of the first four games for Atlanta, which plays at Tampa Bay on Sunday. He had a season-high three tackles in the Falcons’ 23-20 win over Cleveland last week.