The Atlanta Falcons will begin the 2026 NFL season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they won't have their top two quarterbacks in Sunday's opener. Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski ruled out both Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix Jr. (knee) ahead of Week 1.
That leaves veteran backup Cooper Rush as Atlanta's QB1 on Sunday. Rush spent four years playing for Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas. Rush went 9-5 under McCarthy, passing for 3,461 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a rating of 83.8.
The Falcons have also ruled out Billy Bowman Jr. and offensive lineman Cameron Williams for Sunday's matchup. Atlanta's last transaction was adding defensive lineman Zacch Pickens to the practice squad. The former
third-round pick began his career in Chicago with Falcons GM Ian Cunningham.
Check out the Falcons' updated 53-man roster and practice squad entering NFL Week 1 below.
Quarterbacks (4)
- Michael Penix Jr. (9)
- Tua Tagovailoa (1)
- Cooper Rush (13)
- Jack Strand (18)
Running Backs (2)
- Bijan Robinson (7)
- Brian Robinson Jr. (15)
Wide Receivers (5)
- Drake London (5)
- Jahan Dotson (4)
- Olamide Zaccheaus (14)
- Zachariah Branch (17)
- Chris Blair (19)
Tight Ends (3)
- Kyle Pitts (8)
- Austin Hooper (81)
- Charlie Woerner (89)
Offensive Linemen (10)
- Jake Matthews (70)
- Matthew Bergeron (65)
- Ryan Neuzil (64)
- Chris Lindstrom (63)
- Jawaan Taylor (71)
- Michael Jerrell (72)
- Ethan Onianwa (75)
- Kyle Hinton (68)
- Corey Levin (62)
- Cameron Williams (73)
Defensive Linemen (8)
- Gervon Dexter (95)
- Brandon Dorlus (54)
- Maason Smith(92)
- Samson Ebukam (52)
- Da'Shawn Hand (90)
- LaCale London (94)
- Za'Darius Smith (55)
- Cameron Thomas (99)
Linebackers (7)
- Divine Deablo (0)
- Kendal Daniels (53)
- Harold Perkins Jr. (56)
- Christian Harris (45)
- LB Josh Woods (42)
- LB Yasir Abdullah (22)
- LB Jared Ivey (51)
Defensive Backs (11)
- A.J. Terrell (24)
- Avieon Terrell (12)
- Mike Hughes (21)
- Billy Bowman Jr. (33)
- C.J. Henderson (26)
- Mike Ford Jr. (28)
- Malcolm DeWalt (36)
- Jessie Bates III (3)
- Xavier Watts (31)
- DeMarcco Hellams (23)
- Sydney Brown (29)
Special Teams (3)
- LS: Liam McCullough (49)
- K: Nick Folk (6)
- P: Jake Bailey (16)
Reserve Lists
- EDGE James Pearce Jr. (suspended)
- WR Beaux Collins (Reserve/Injured) DTR
- OT Storm Norton (Reserve/PUP)
- LB DeAngelo Malone (Reserve/PUP)
- DE Keshawn Banks (Reserve/Injured)
- LB JD Bertrand (Reserve/Injured)
- LB Jalon Walker (Reserve/Injured)
- RB Trey Sermon (Reserve/Injured)
- DT Anterio Thompson (Reserve/NFI)
Falcons practice squad
- WR Vinny Anthony (86)
- DT Carlos Allen Jr. (79)
- OL Kam Dewberry (61)
- WR Dylan Drummond (80)
- RB Tyler Goodson (25)
- DB Darnay Holmes (30)
- OT Riley Mahlman (76)
- OL James Brockermeyer (66)
- TE Nick Muse (87)
- RB Cash Jones (32)
- TE Jack Velling (84)
- WR Antwane Wells (82)
- OL Josh Thompson (67)
- DL Zach Harrison (96)
- DB Jammie Robinson (34)
- DL Zacch Pickens (93)
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons 53-man roster and practice squad ahead of season opener
