The Atlanta Falcons are just two days away from playing in their 2026 NFL regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the media prior to Friday's practice and gave some injury updates on a few key players, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The veteran signal-caller injured his oblique on Thursday and was replaced by Cooper Rush the last two days of practice. Tagovailoa was nowhere to be seen on Friday, and as expected, he was ruled out for Week 1. Rush will be the starter for Sunday's game.
QB Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled OUT of Sunday's game.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) September 11, 2026
Billy Bowman, Michael Penix, Cam Williams are also out.
Za'Darius Smith is questionable.
Backing up Rush will be undrafted rookie Jack Strand, who played
so well for Atlanta in the preseason that the team kept four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. It appears the Falcons might need all four just to get by Week 1.
Michael Penix Jr. has also been ruled out for Week 1 but is expected to return soon and will likely take over as the starting quarterback once he's deemed healthy enough to do so. For now, it will be Rush getting the QB1 reps in Pittsburgh.
The 32-year-old has appeared in 42 career games (16 starts) and passed for 3,766 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over eight NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.
Watch Stefanski's full Friday press conference, as shared by the Falcons YouTube channel below.
Kickoff for Sunday's game in Pittsburgh is at 1 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Kevin Stefanski gives injury update on Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa
