Tua hurts oblique at Falcons practice; Rush takes reps — SkimNews
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- Tua Tagovailoa sustained an oblique injury during Thursday's practice, grabbing at his back after a throw and was listed as a limited participant on the Falcons' official injury report.
- Cooper Rush took all first-team reps during the team portion of practice and said it was his first significant work with the first-team offense since joining Atlanta in late July.
- Rush has started 16 games across eight NFL seasons, posting a 9-7 record in those starts, and told reporters he had not been informed whether he would start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Tagovailoa was named the Falcons' starter Monday after beating out Michael Penix Jr., who is recovering from November left ACL surgery and told coach Kevin Stefanski he did not feel ready for live game action.
- The Falcons signed Rush on July 29, the day training camp opened, in part because Tagovailoa arrived with a tight back and missed roughly the first week of practices.
- Tagovailoa was released by the Miami Dolphins in the offseason — a move that saddled Miami with an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead cap — before signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract with Atlanta.
Why it matters: Atlanta's Week 1 quarterback situation is suddenly uncertain less than a week after the team named Tagovailoa the starter, and with Penix Jr. still recovering from ACL surgery, the Falcons may be forced to start a 9-7 career backup on $1.3 million of guaranteed money against Pittsburgh — a fragile setup for a team that just invested in Tagovailoa after absorbing $99.2 million in dead cap to pry him from Miami.
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