The Atlanta Falcons have had a lot of question marks surrounding their quarterback position over the past few months, and that has carried into the regular season. With injuries mounting at this spot, the Falcons once again have no clue who will be starting for them when they return to action in Week 2.
Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. were both inactive for Week 1, which meant Cooper Rush drew the start against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The problem is that Rush is dealing with back spasms now, while neither Tagovailoa nor Penix is fully healthy, which has left Atlanta in a tough spot. With kickoff quickly approaching, one insider weighed in on the situation.
Cooper Rush Predicted to Start for Falcons in Week 2
Throughout the summer, the Falcons made it clear that they were hoping to see Tagovailoa and Penix duke it out for the starting job. That never really happened, though, as Penix spent the majority of training camp recovering from a partially torn ACL that required surgery last year.
Atlanta seems to want Penix to be its starter, but it isn’t going to throw him onto the field until he is fully healthy. That meant Tagovailoa would be the guy until Penix was ready, but an oblique injury suffered at practice last week resulted in him missing the game, meaning that Rush drew the start.
Rush didn’t necessarily lose the Falcons their season opener, but he didn’t play particularly well either (12/22, 143 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT). Making matters even worse, he’s not fully healthy now either, putting head coach Kevin Stefanski in a bit of a bind. While Tagovailoa didn’t practice on Thursday, Rush and Penix were both full participants, and while Penix is hopefully going to be the guy for Atlanta, NFL insider Ian Rapoport believes that Rush will wind up drawing his second straight start in Week 2.
The fact that Penix has not been getting all of the first-team reps leads me down the road of thinking that it will likely be Cooper Rush starting this week,” Rapoport said on “NFL GameDay.
Falcons Have Big Quarterback Decision to Make in Week 2
At this point, Tagovailoa seems to be out of the Week 2 equation, meaning that the Falcons will have to decide between Rush and Penix. Ultimately, this decision will come down to how confident Atlanta is in Penix’s surgically reconstructed knee. If the team feels he needs more time, it will roll with Rush. But if it feels he’s ready, he could make a surprise start on Sunday.
Friday’s practice could go a long way in determining who starts for the Falcons, but it seems like they are intent on giving Penix a shot to make his season debut. It would register as a fairly big surprise if Rush isn’t the guy, but if Penix can log another full practice, that would leave the door open for him to take the field against the Carolina Panthers.
Insider Predicts Falcons’ Week 2 Starting Quarterback Amid Injury Issues