After waiting as long as possible to announce their starting quarterback for Week 1 of the NFL regular season, the Atlanta Falcons handed the keys to Tua Tagovailoa, hoping a change of scenery could bring out the best in him. Whatever sense of hope Falcons fans had from this decision quickly vanished when it was revealed that he suffered an oblique injury in Thursday's practice, sidelining him for the day.
Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained an oblique injury in practice Thursday and was listed as a limited participant, according to the team's official injury report.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2026
Story via @marcraimondi:https://t.co/2xKm2FPUDL
He hasn't been ruled out for Atlanta's Week 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but recovering from an oblique strain enough to play in a game that counts in just three days is easier said than done. If Tagovailoa has to miss Week 1, here's what the Falcons' quarterback depth chart will probably look like. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty.
Projected Falcons Week 1 QB depth chart if Tua Tagovailoa can't play
Order | Name |
|---|---|
QB1 | Cooper Rush |
QB2 | Jack Strand |
OUT | Michael Penix Jr. |
I told you, it's not pretty. I'm not here to say Tagovailoa is some world-beater, but Cooper Rush? Yikes. Rush reportedly took all of the practice snaps with the first team on Thursday, and figures to step in as the starter if Tagovailoa has to miss this game.
Rush has had some good moments in the NFL. He notably went 4-1 as the Dallas Cowboys' starter in relief of Dak Prescott in 2022 and went 4-4 in that same role in 2024. He went 0-2 in two starts last season with the Ravens but completed over 65 percent of his passes overall. Still, there's ultimately a reason Rush signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with the Falcons to essentially be their third stringer in the offseason. He is not good enough to start a ton of games for a team with postseason aspirations.
But he certainly figures to be an upgrade over the only other healthy quarterback on their 53-man roster, Jack Strand. An undrafted free agent out of Division II Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Strand did play pretty well in the preseason, but the regular season is a different beast. The Falcons planned on developing him behind the scenes, not throwing him into game action — certainly not in Week 1.
Falcons might need to they sowed by adding Tua Tagovailoa to injury-riddled QB room
Signing Tagovailoa was a risk. It made sense, given that he signed for the league minimum after the Miami Dolphins released him and the Falcons needed some more certainty behind oft-injured Michael Penix Jr., but Tagovailoa has just one fully healthy NFL season under his belt. He's missed tons of time due to concussions and other ailments, making him hard to trust weekly.
The Falcons were certainly hoping for one of their two quarterbacks, between Tagovailoa and Penix, to be healthy at all times throughout the season, but that was a lot to ask for, clearly. Relying on oft-injured quarterbacks has created a possibility of the Falcons starting a third-stringer in Week 1 - an unheard-of problem.
The Falcons are fortunate that Tagovailoa's injury doesn't appear to be extremely serious, but every game counts, especially in what should be a tight NFC South. Needing to rely on Cooper Rush from the onset isn't a good thing, if, indeed, that's where the Falcons are headed.
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