The Atlanta Falcons were planning to start veteran quarterback Tua Tagovailoa against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as Michael Penix Jr. recovers from an ACL injury. The Falcons have been underwhelmed by the play of Tagovailoa during and after training camp, and Penix is expected to become the team's starter as soon as he's cleared to play. Atlanta appears to have another complication at quarterback just days before its season opener.
Per Marc Raimondi of ESPN, Tagovailoa seemed to suffer a back injury during Thursday's practice. More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts "During the open media portion of practice, Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa touched his back and sat down on the grass briefly during individual drills Thursday," Raimondi posted on X. "It was unclear exactly what had happened.
He didn’t seem to throw again after, but media only gets to watch a small portion of practice." If Penix and Tagovailoa are unable to play, the Falcons would turn to Cooper Rush as their quarterback against the Steelers. Rush is 9-7 in his career as a starter. He went 0-2 with the Baltimore Ravens last season, throwing for 303 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.
For his career, Rush has thrown for 3,766 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The apparent injury news comes amid reports that the Falcons could soon move on from Tagovailoa, who was released by the Miami Dolphins earlier this year. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, he could be released in favor of Penix or Rush.
"There is, we’re told, a 'strong possibility; Tua will be released if/when he’s replaced," Florio wrote. "The chance of that happening will increase if he eventually yields not to Penix but to veteran Cooper Rush, who has 16 NFL starts under his belt." If Rush performs well against the Steelers, it could hasten the end of Tagovailoa's short time with the Falcons. For more on the Falcons and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
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