It’s only Week 1, but the Atlanta Falcons are down two quarterbacks.
Tua Tagovailoa officially has been ruled out for the Falcons’ season opener Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cooper Rush will get the start in his place.
Tagavailoa suffered an oblique injury during practice Thursday, while Michael Penix Jr., on his way back from an ACL tear last year, was ruled out earlier in the week, though he’s practiced fully. Undrafted free agent Jack Strand is set to be the Falcons’ QB2.
The writing was on the practice wall Thursday when Tagovailoa was listed as limited and Rush took first-team reps.
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Like Tagovailoa, Rush is in his first season with Atlanta, which has had a season’s worth of quarterback questions for new head coach Kevin Stefanski to deal with before even beginning its campaign.
Rush, 32, has played in 42 career games with 16 starts, the majority coming for the Dallas Cowboys and two for the Baltimore Ravens last season.
Having once been a surprising savior of sorts for Dallas who was 5-1 over his first six starts with the club in relief of Dak Prescott, Rush struggled last season for the Ravens, going 0-2 as a starter and throwing for just 303 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions in four appearances.
For Tagovailoa, Friday's designation is the continuation of a rather dreadful start to a pivotal debut season in Atlanta.
Tagovailoa was released in the offseason following six seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who took the Alabama product fifth overall in 2020. After his Miami parting, Tagovailoa was quickly signed by the Falcons and essentially won the their starting job by default with Penix unavailable. Tagovailoa largely underperformed in the preseason, and with Penix getting healthier by the day, one must wonder if Tagovailoa’s opportunity to start has slipped away.
Entering his seventh NFL season, Tagovailoa has guaranteed he’ll be unable to play a full 17-game season for the sixth time in his seven years.
Rush and the Falcons kick off against the Steelers at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.