The Atlanta Falcons planned on having one type of quarterback depth chart for the 2026 NFL season, one that would be helmed by a pair of left-handed quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr.
For Week 1 in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, it’s going to look totally different. Injuries have already taken their toll.
Penix was previously ruled out, with the Falcons deciding that he needed more time to get up to speed after recovering from his season-ending knee injury during the 2025 campaign.
Tagovailoa was ruled out on Friday after sustaining an out-of-nowhere oblique injury during Thursday’s practice that prevented him from doing any more work on the practice field the rest of the week.
And so when Week 1 kicks off for Atlanta, it’ll be a shaky setup for the Falcons’ QBs.
Falcons QB Depth Chart
Week 1 Starter
Cooper Rush is slated to start at quarterback in Week 1 for the Falcons.
Rush is the long-time Cowboys and Ravens backup quarterback who had a lot of success in Dallas when called upon but then struggled for Baltimore in 2025.
He signed with the Falcons on July 29 and can’t have imagined that he’d be starting the season opener.
Rush even complicated things this weekend, because news emerged Saturday that Rush had gone through a bout of back spasms in the leadup to this Week 1 game. The update seemed to affirm that Rush is all good to start on Sunday.
Backup QB
The Falcons’ backup quarterback for Sunday will be Jack Strand.
Strand is an undrafted rookie from the Division II level who ranks top-10 all-time in D-II passing yardage.
He was also 23-for-36 passing in the preseason while throwing one touchdown and running for two more.
At least as far as you could ask a player coming from Strand’s path, he did everything he could in the preseason to make a positive impression.
Do Falcons Have a 3rd QB?
The Falcons haven’t announced any kind of on-roster third quarterback for Week 1.
Tagovailoa and Penix are out. Rush and Strand are in.
Teams more often than not enter Sundays with three healthy quarterbacks.
The reality here is that the Falcons likely know who on their roster would take snaps if both Rush and Strand got hurt. It isn’t a QB but rather someone at a different position.
And given that, it turns out that it’s not that key a topic for the moment.
The Falcons can’t really afford more injuries at the QB position. It’s been a painful start to the season for them that they’ll try to overcome.
Falcons QB Depth Chart: Starter, Backup in Atlanta Shaken by Injuries