Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) warms up prior to a pre season game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
Rich Storry-Imagn Images
With the Atlanta Falcons facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL regular season, the starting quarterback for the game is one that not many people expected. As Tua Tagovailoa is out for the Falcons' Week 1 matchup, former NFL player and analyst Dan Orlovsky would have a startling take on Tagovailoa and new starter Cooper Rush.
Speaking on ESPN's “NFL Live,” Orlovsky was asked for his reaction to the news of Rush starting for Atlanta as Tagovailoa won't play due to an oblique injury.
The main concern he has for Tagovailoa is when he can return to the field and prove he's a capable quarterback, because Orlovsky argues that if Rush plays well, the Falcons are “not going to put Tua back on the field just to put him back on the field.”
“One, can Tua get himself back on the field? There's an opportunity for Cooper Rush here. There's another week for Michael Penix to get closer to becoming the starting quarterback. You feel for Tua. There's times in this league where he was phenomenal, and it feels like the wheels just started to fall off a year or two ago, and now there's another injury,” Orlovsky said.
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“And if Cooper Rush plays well, Atlanta's not going to put Tua back on the field just to put him back on the field,” Orlovsky continued. “And at some point, Michael Penix is going to get fully healthy to become the starting quarterback. So it bears the question: How does Tua get himself back onto the field?”
At any rate, it remains to be seen how Rush plays on Sunday for Atlanta against the Steelers, and when Tagovailoa can return to play.