The Atlanta Falcons have scratched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday's season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tagovailoa was limited in practice on Thursday after suffering an oblique strain that had left his status listed as day-to-day. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Tagovailoa will not be available for Atlanta's Week 1 game.
Third-string quarterback Cooper Rush will get the start in his place. Rush is stepping in because both Tagovailoa and backup Michael Penix Jr. are unavailable.
Penix has been managing a nagging knee injury carried over from last season, which ended his year and has continued to affect his preparation for this season. That injury is what prompted new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski to hand the Week 1 starting job to Tagovailoa in the first place.
Stefanski non-committal beyond Week 1
Stefanski told reporters earlier this week that he has no clarity yet on who will start at quarterback beyond the season opener.
"I've got the blinders on, so I see Week 1 in front of me and after this one, then we'll start on the next one and those type of things," Stefanski said. "So, I don't think it's fair to really go past this week on anything related to our football team."
With Tagovailoa and Penix both out, the only two healthy quarterbacks left on Atlanta's roster are Rush and Jack Strand, an undrafted rookie out of Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Tagovailoa's move from Miami
Tagovailoa was released this season by the Miami Dolphins, the team that took him fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. To cut him, the Dolphins absorbed a record $99.2 million in dead cap space.
During his time in Miami, Tagovailoa suffered multiple serious concussions, prompting doctors and NFL analysts to urge him to consider retirement. This offseason, the Falcons signed him to a one-year, $1.3 million contract.
Falcons' playoff outlook
Atlanta is projected with just a 27.6 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic. The Falcons have not reached the postseason since 2017, an eight-year drought tied for the second-longest in franchise history.
