The Atlanta Falcons were thrown for a loop earlier in the week when Tua Tagovailoa suffered a back injury days before he was set to start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. The Falcons ruled Tagovailoa out against the Steelers on Friday's injury report. His replacement is now dealing with a back issue also.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cooper Rush is dealing with back spasms but is expected to make the start against the Steelers. More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts "Falcons starting QB Cooper Rush, who was replacing the injured QB Tua Tagovailoa, experienced back spasms Saturday but the team said he still will start Sunday at Pittsburgh," Schefter posted on X. Michael Penix Jr., who was recovering from his third career ACL injury, has been medically cleared to play.
However, he's dealing with the mental hurdle of trusting his knee. Quarterback Jack Strand, who joined the Falcons as an undrafted rookie free agent this spring out of Minnesota State–Moorhead, is set to be Rush's backup. Rush told reporters this week that Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have done a good job preparing him and the rest of the quarterback room to play this year in a new system.
Stefanski believes his quarterbacks are on the same page this year. "Year 1 of any system, for coaches and players, you get to know where the bones are buried on all these plays," Stefanski said, via the Falcons. "You spend more time talking about the 'why,' and the intent of the play.
Sometimes you get to Year 2 and 3 and everybody kind of breezes past that. "So, I do think there is an advantage to the guys in that room all asking really good questions so we can all figuratively get on the same page." The Falcons will hope that Rush is able to operate the offense on Sunday. If not, Atlanta could turn to Strand to play one of the more veteran defenses in the league.
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