Tua Tagovailoa is in new NFL colors for the first time this season.
After having spent his entire career with the Miami Dolphins, Tagovailoa was cut in the offseason. Miami was in a contract nightmare with the declining lefty QB, so they cut him loose.
That eventually led to Tagovailoa signing with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was set to compete with incumbent Michael Penix Jr. in a battle of lefty QBs for the starting gig.
And then earlier this month, the Falcons made it clear that Penix wouldn’t be ready for Week 1. His 2025 season ended with a knee injury, and while he’s been cleared, they wanted to give him another week or two to fully ramp up before considering him as a potential starter.
The runway looked clear for Tagovailoa, until things went awry.
Why Isn’t Tua Playing Today?
Tua Tagovailoa isn’t playing on Sunday in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers because he got injured during the week of practice.
The southpaw had a full day of practice on Wednesday, but early on Thursday, he made a throw and went down briefly to the ground in pain.
At first, it looked like Tagovailoa had hurt his back. The Falcons eventually called it an oblique injury.
Regardless of the terminology, it kept Tagovailoa out of the rest of Thursday’s practice and forced him to miss Friday too before he was ruled out.
Tagovailoa hadn’t looked particularly good in the preseason, including in a matchup against Miami, but it still made sense for the Falcons to start him given the alternatives.
Instead, the long-time Dolphins QB will be on the sideline, not in uniform, out injured. It’s something that Miami fans know pretty well, too.
Who Is Falcons’ QB Now?
With Tagovailoa and Penix out, things are quite messy in Atlanta for the first game of the Kevin Stefanski era as head coach.
He had pretty much no choice but to name the veteran Cooper Rush as the starter. Rush was a backup for the Dallas Cowboys and then for the Baltimore Ravens.
In his eight years with the Cowboys, Rush proved a positive fill-in option for Dak Prescott.
But last year in Baltimore, Rush was so bad in relief of Lamar Jackson that the Ravens eventually turned to Tyler Huntley as their replacement when Jackson was out instead of Rush.
Rush only signed with the Falcons on July 29, and now he’s starting Week 1 because Tua got hurt.
The only other healthy quarterback for the Falcons is an undrafted rookie from the Division II ranks named Jack Strand. While he looked good in the preseason, Strand is still a mystery for the NFL level.
The Falcons would certainly like it if Tagovailoa and Penix could heal up sooner rather than later.
Why Tua Tagovailoa Isn’t Playing Today After Leaving Dolphins