general
Michael Penix will be inactive in Week 1
Falcons keep Tua Tagovailoa as starter, Michael Penix inactive for opener; Cooper Rush remains backup
Cooper Rush
QB · ATL · 32 yrs · exp 9 · Central Michigan
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All 2026 quarterback competitions went to the older players
Training camp opened with four, and potentially five, NFL quarterback competitions. In the end, all five jobs went to the older of the two primary contenders. The first decision came in Minnesota, where Kyler Murray prevailed over 2024 top-10 selection J.J. McCarthy in the first competition to be resolved, before the first preseason game. The backup job there also has apparently gone to the older player, with Carson Wentz seemingly leapfrogging McCarthy. (The Vikings have yet to release their Week 1 depth chart.) Minnesota will enter the season with three former high first-round picks in their quarterback room. Murray was No. 1 overall in 2019, and Wentz was the second overall pick in 2016. The next decision was made by the Browns, where Deshaun Watson was made the starter (at least for Week 1 and likely Week 2) two weeks ago today, over 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders. Watson was the 12th overall pick in 2017. Last week, the Raiders finally declared that Kirk Cousins, who entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2012, would start Week 1 over Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in 2026. And now the Falcons have gone with Tua Tagovailoa, pick No. 5 in 2020, over Michael Penix Jr., the eighth overall selection in 2024. That one feels even more tenuous than Watson in Cleveland; the Falcons were hoping Penix would be ready to go. Ultimately, they decided he wasn’t — and Tua got the nod over Cooper Rush (who’s technically older than Tua). The fifth competition never became one, because Jacoby Brissett got a new deal done before a hold in gave Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck a chance to learn the new offense and potentially supplant Brissett. In many situations, winning the starting job to start the season means securing the privilege of eventually being benched. That’s a very real possibility for Watson, Cousins, and Tagovailoa. The safest of them all is Murray, who was likely signed to be the starter — and who is playing for a team that wants to have the same quarterback in place for all 17 regular-season games
QB · ATL
analyst
Cooper Rush - Backing up Tagovailoa in Week 1
sleeper-rotowire+2 stories · 30dSource unavailable
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that Rush will serve as the top backup to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the Falcons' Week 1 game against the Steelers, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. Though the decision on the Falcons' Week 1 starter came down to Michael Penix (knee) and Tagovailoa, Penix will ultimately be inactive for the season opener rather than serving as the No. 2 quarterback. Penix took part in just six 11-on-11 practices during training camp while completing his recovery from the ACL surgery he underwent last November, so the Falcons will wait for him to get more reps in before making him available for his 2026 debut, either as a replacement in the starting lineup for Tagovailoa or as Tagovailoa's top backup. With Penix out of the mix for at least the first game, Atlanta will go with the more seasoned Rush over undrafted rookie Jack Strand as the No. 2 option behind Tagovailoa
analyst
Michael Penix Jr. Will Be Inactive in Week 1
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) will be inactive for Sunday's season opener against Pittsburgh, head coach Kevin Stefanski said, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter. Tua Tagovailoa will start, with Cooper Rush serving as Atlanta's No. 2 quarterback. Penix spent most of the offseason and training camp working his way back from ACL surgery before finally being cleared for full-team work in late August. He did not play in any of Atlanta's three preseason games. Stefanski declined to put a timeline on what comes next for Penix, but said he is "very, very confident" in the team's plan for him and feels good about where he is right now. Penix started nine games last season, throwing for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions
general
The Falcons still don't have a starting quarterback (but will soon)
With the first game of the season only nine days away, the Falcons still haven’t named a starting quarterback. The competition, ostensibly, is between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. But how, as Simms said on Thursday’s PFT Live , can it be a competition when Penix hasn’t been able to compete? The Falcons published their weekly media schedule on Friday, and there will be a “starting quarterback press conference” next Wednesday. Obviously, the identity of the starter will be known by then. Our guess is that it will happen early in the week, probably on Monday, with the announcement coming Tuesday morning at the earliest. And if Penix still isn’t ready to go as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, the likely options are Tua and Cooper Rush. (I’d roll the dice with undrafted rookie Jack Strand, but that’s possibly one of the many reasons why I don’t run a team.) Here’s where the situation can get very interesting. If the Falcons decide to go with Rush, who is 9-7 in 16 career starts, why even keep Tua on the team? His $1.215 million base salary isn’t guaranteed. They could cut him, and he’d still get the full $54 million he’s owed by the Dolphins for 2026. It made sense to sign Tua. He was cheap. He beat the Falcons in Atlanta last year. When everything is working as planned, he can perform at a high level. When, however, things go sideways ( e.g. , if the first read isn’t there), Tua tends to get happy feet. The Falcons gave it a try. Tua gave it a try. If he can’t beat out Rush for the Week 1 start in Pittsburgh (where Tua made his last start for the Dolphins last December), there’s no reason to keep him on the roster. Frankly, if Tua falls behind Rush, Tua shouldn’t want to stay
general
Falcons GM Ian Cunningham: We haven't made QB decision for Week 1 yet
The Raiders named Kirk Cousins their Week 1 starting quarterback on Wednesday, but his former team has not made the same call. Falcons General Manager Ian Cunningham said “not yet” when asked at a press conference if the team has made a choice between Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa for their game against the Steelers. “Ultimately, when the coaches are ready , when the players are ready, we will make that decision,” Cunningham said. Penix was cleared for football activities after recovering from a torn ACL over a week ago, but did not play in the team’s final preseason game. That lack of work was mitigated by Tagovailoa’s ups and downs while in game action last month. Tagovailoa also dealt with a back injury early in camp and the extended looks that Jack Strand and Cooper Rush received over the summer resulted in them making the cut to the 53-man roster as well. Cunningham said that having Strand and Rush provides “a little bit of an insurance policy” and that seems wise given the injury histories of the other two quarterbacks. That only leaves the decision of who they’ll be insuring on September 13
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Falcons join the four-quarterback club
The Falcons have joined the four-quarterback club, keeping Michael Penix Jr, Cooper Rush, Jack Strand, and Tua Tagovailoa on the initial roster
general
10 thoughts on the Cowboys 27-24 preseason loss to the Saints
The Cowboys lost to the Saints in their preseason game 27-24
QB · ATL
analyst
Cooper Rush - Most pass attempts in finale
sleeper-rotowire+2 stories · 30dSource unavailable
Rush completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 106 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason finale against the Dolphins. One of Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix (knee) is set to start Week 1 against the Steelers, but Rush has put consistent tape together as the No. 3 quarterback. Penix is supposedly set to start the regular season, but the quarterback has yet to progress his game availability as the preseason comes to a close. Tagovailoa was accurate in his short stint but fumbled the football early on in the contest, meaning that if Penix is not ready for Week 1 and Tagovailoa fails, Rush could see a fair amount of pass attempts in the early weeks of the regular season
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Tua Tagovailoa to start preseason finale, Michael Penix Jr. won't play
With Week 1 quickly approaching, at some point, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski will officially name a starting quarterback. But, as Stefanski said in his Wednesday press conference, that day is not today. Michael Penix Jr. was able to advance to 11-on-11 drills in practice this week. But he is not going to play in Friday’s preseason finale against the Dolphins, with Tua Tagovailoa getting the start, Cooper Rush coming in second, and rookie Jack Strand coming in third. "[Penix] just got back to team drills on Monday. So just felt [we wanted] to keep the focus on these three days and see how he came out of it ,” Stefanski said. “I think he did well.” But Stefanski was not willing to divulge his thoughts as to who might be QB1 at the start of the regular season. “I’m not going to get into Week 1,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, I’m best served, and we’re best served, by keeping it day-to-day and focusing on what’s in front of us. Really, this was an important week for Mike — first time out there with people around you, the offensive line, the defensive line. I think going through a drill where you’ve got to move up in the pocket, or get chased out of the pocket, whatever it is. “So I thought [it was] a really good first step for Mike in that regard. But outside of this week, I don’t think it’s fair to go farther than that.” Tagovailoa had a rough go in his preseason debut against the Broncos, going just 3-of-5 for 22 yards with a fumble. He then did not play in last week’s matchup with the Colts. Stefanski said he’s seen progress from the former Dolphins QB over the last couple of weeks. “I think [he’s been] doing a good job,” Stefanski said. “And that’s something — all of our players are really, on offense, playing in a new system. And getting all these reps and getting the walk-through reps and making sure we’re all on point, if you will. There’s something to be said in football where you make a mistake, and our job as coaches is to identify and correct. So, when something is wrong on the football field, we hustle in here, we watch the tape, and we get it fixed. “There’s things from those plays in the Denver game that we learned from, we corrected. So I think all of our players, Tua included, take all that coaching to heart and try to be one day better after it.” We’ll see what Tagovailoa’s performance looks like against his old team and what that could mean for the QB competition moving forward. But Stefanski seems fine with taking his time in choosing between Penix and Tagovailoa. “We’ll take all the information we have available to us and make the decision when appropriate — really, when we have to,” Stefanski said
QB · DAL
QB · ATL
general
From forgotten Patriot to the Cowboys new backup plan
The Cowboys have a clear and obvious QB2
general
Ranking rookie QB performances from Week 1 of preseason: Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Drew Allar among best
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and for rookie NFL quarterbacks, their best chance at that impression comes in the preseason. This year, the Cardinals ' Carson Beck and the Panthers ' Haynes King got things off to a sizzling start in the Hall of Fame Game. Beck -- a third-round pick out of Miami -- went 15-for-19 for 188 yards and a touchdown in a thoroughly impressive performance , but King -- undrafted out of Georgia Tech -- got the last laugh, diving in for a game-winning touchdown on the final play. Think the preseason is boring? Think again! Unfortunately, neither Beck nor King could make any sort of second impression this week, as both were dealing with injuries. Still, there were 15 rookies playing their first (unofficial) NFL game. Here's how they fared. (And yes, I watched every single dropback by these players. Really.) The stat line just about says it all for Virginia Tech product Kyron Drones , who got cut shortly after the game. Kyler Baugh was HYPED after the sack 😤 🎥: NFL+ #UFLtoNFL pic.twitter.com/eiT21jv0yu Miller Moss missed on his first five passes before completing his final three. He did show nice touch on his last throw, a 22-yard strike to Ray-Ray McCloud . The Louisville product is currently the Bears ' No. 4 quarterback behind Caleb Williams , established backup Tyson Bagent and veteran journeyman Case Keenum , so he's likely hoping for a practice squad spot at best. With no Drake Maye , the Patriots started Tommy DeVito and then brought in Behren Morton in the third quarter. Morton had some short misses that he'd like to have back, but he also delivered a few nice throws. This tight-window completion to Kobe Prentice was his best. Behren Morton to Kobe Prentice for a big gain! 📺 WBZ pic.twitter.com/9RgAkGP0Oe The Falcons ' miserable last two weeks didn't get any better Friday night, when they got thumped by the Broncos 27-7. Tua Tagovailoa looked awful. Cooper Rush looked even worse. Michael Penix Jr . still isn't fully playing or practicing. We will give Jack Strand some credit, though: At the end of a brutal game, he at least got Atlanta on the board with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Via usereliprod pic.twitter.com/JY6uPkObqO Nice moment for a guy out of Division-II Minnesota State-Moorhead. Former Illinois standout Luke Altmyer played almost the entire game for the Lions , and he was mostly fine, especially for an undrafted rookie who had to face several Bengals starters at first and then second-stringers as well. His first interception wasn't his fault: Isaac TeSlaa bobbled a well-thrown ball. The second pick was just barely out of the reach of Dominic Lovett . Altmyer threw his first (unofficial) NFL touchdown to Tarik Black late. Luke Altmyer to Tarik Black for the Lions TD Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8asXzMWVYf Expected to be a mid-round pick, Garrett Nussmeier nearly slid out of the draft completely before the Chiefs nabbed him. The former LSU signal caller got plenty of opportunities to show he should have gone earlier and was generally solid. He had a few impressive moments, including this nice scramble-drill improvisation for Nikko Remigio ... Rookie QB Garrett Nussmeier with a nice little throw on the run. LARvsKC on @NFLnetwork Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pD4tho6MTk ... and this dart to Jared Wiley . Another dime on the run from the rookie Garrett Nussmeier LARvsKC on @NFLnetwork Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/x6aqxHi5N4 He also took a very rookie-like sack by Desjuan Johnson and got up gingerly Down goes the QB 😤 📺 @CBSLosAngeles | 📲 https://t.co/R5m5kJYp8K pic.twitter.com/mgjDacnX4j Unfortunately, what could have been one of the biggest plays and highlights of Week 1 wasn't meant to be. Nussmeier lofted a deep ball to Jason Brownlee , who had gotten behind the defense, but it got broken up at the last moment (or, depending on your vantage point, dropped). Nussmeier is behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields in the pecking orde [... truncated ...]
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Falcons' QB depth chart has Tua Tagovailoa as starter, Michael Penix Jr. omitted as 'injured player'
From the outside, there’s a quarterback competition in Atlanta. From the inside, there isn’t one yet. The Falcons’ official depth chart lists Tua Tagovailoa as the starter, with Cooper Rush as the backup and Jack Strand as the third-string option. Michael Penix Jr. isn’t on the list. Instead, he appears on the depth chart as an “injured player.” Of course, he’s not on the physically unable to perform list following last year’s ACL injury. Penix is practicing, but he has yet to participate in 11-on-11 drills. The clock is ticking, and Tua could end up winning the job as of Week 1 by default. And if he performs well, it could be hard for Penix to get back on the field. The other factor at play is that the current regime has no attachment to Penix. Coach Kevin Stefanski, G.M. Ian Cunningham, and president of football Matt Ryan weren’t there when the eighth overall pick was used to acquire Penix. They can ride with the best option. For now, Tua is clearly the best healthy one
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Tua Tagovailoa to start first preseason game, but not named QB1 for regular season
Tua Tagovailoa is going to get another chance to create some separation in Atlanta’s quarterback competition. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his Wednesday press conference that Tagovailoa will start Friday’s preseason matchup with the Broncos. But Stefanski said he’s not ready to name a starter for Week 1. “Looking forward to Tua getting his first action in the game in this system ,” Stefanski said. “There’s a lot of newness for him as well, in terms of that kind of thing — first time in the building for him as a Falcon. Just understanding all the things that go with it.” Stefanski noted that the starters will play a series or around 10 plays in the contest. Cooper Rush will play after Tagovailoa and Jack Strand will play third at quarterback. Tagovailoa has been “competing” with Michael Penix Jr. throughout the offseason. But that’s been complicated by Penix’s health, as the quarterback is not yet fully cleared after tearing his ACL last November. Penix is still not slated to do 11-on-11 team drills next week when the Falcons go to practice with the Colts
analyst
Cooper Rush to play in preseason opener Friday
by Ari Koslow | Falcons Correspondent | Wed, Aug 12th 2026, 1:53pm EDT Cooper Rush will play in the Falcons preseason opener on Friday against the Broncos. ( Tori McElhaney on Twitter ) Fantasy Impact: Rush is expected to rotate in after Tua Tagovailoa. Kevin Stefanski said Cooper Rush will rotate in after Tua Tagovailoa vs. Broncos. Jack Strand will finish the game. More Cooper Rush : News , Rankings , Projections , Stats Add FantasyPros on Google
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Cowboys fans feel pretty sure about who will be QB2 for 2026
Who would you consider to be QB2?
QB · ATL
general
Everything you need to know from Day 4 of the Falcons’ 2026 training camp
Kendal Daniels returns, while Jahan Dotson and Cooper Rush impress on Day 4 of 2026 Falcons training camp
general
Undrafted rookie QB Jack Strand working with Falcons' first-team offense
In 2024, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in free agency and then drafted Michael Penix in the first round. They moved on from Cousins and signed veteran Tua Tagovailoa this offseason. Yet, it’s Jack Strand currently running their offense. The undrafted rookie got a phone call from Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt the night before the first training camp practice. Van Pelt informed Strand that Tagovailoa would miss some time with a back injury and Penix was not cleared for team work, leaving Strand as the only quarterback on the roster. “ I didn’t think about it too much ,” Strand said after Thursday’s practice, via Will McFadden of the team website. “I’m coming into training camp and everything just trying to take it day by day. Keep attacking every day. Keep getting better every day, whether I’m getting a bunch of reps or I’m not getting as many reps. Whatever reps that I do get, whether it’s in Indy, whether it’s in RVA, whether it’s in team, anything, I’m just going to try to attack those reps and try to keep getting with those, and then also from watching the guys around me.” The Falcons have since signed veteran Cooper Rush, and Tagovailoa did some light throwing during the individual periods on Thursday. So, Strand might not have much longer with the first-team. But the former Minnesota State-Moorhead is focused on getting better every day, no matter where he is on the depth chart or in the rotation. “That’s something that I’ve been telling myself a ton: Be where your feet are. Enjoy the moment,” Strand said. “Don’t look in the past. Don’t dwell on any mistakes or any success that you might have had. Don’t look to the future and wonder what’s going to be happening in two weeks, in three weeks, in a couple of months or anything. Just be where your feet are.”
general
Tua Tagovailoa takes part in Thursday's practice
Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed the first practice of training camp with back tightness, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said that he didn’t expect it to be a lengthy absence and his prediction was proven correct on Thursday. Multiple reporters at the Falcons’ second practice of camp shared pictures and video of Tagovailoa on the field with a helmet on. The videos show Tagovailoa throwing passes and doing some other individual drills. Tagovailoa did join quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Jack Strand for other positional work, but he should ramp up his workload in the coming days as long as the back issue does not flare up again. Michael Penix is also out of team drills at the moment and he said on Wednesday that it remains unclear when he will get the green light to take that step in his recovery from last season’s torn ACL
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