The Atlanta Falcons couldn't have picked a worse time to deal with an injury scare if they tried. With the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers just days away, they're now dealing with a possible injury to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after he went down during today's practice session.
During Thursday's individual drills, Tagovailoa reportedly appeared to suffer discomfort in his back, briefly sat on the grass, and was not seen throwing again during practice-- which is important to note given he missed the first week of training camp due to back spasms. And he wasn't able to return to practice as Cooper Rush took most of the reps with the starting offense.
For those who missed it, this was the video that Atlanta 11 Alive's Reggie Chatman Jr. caught of the play:
#WATCH: I happened to catch the moment #Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa went down briefly during the open portion of #Falcons practice
— Reggie Chatman Jr. (@ReggieChatman) September 10, 2026
He stood off to the side for the rest of the period we were able to watch. https://t.co/VyzfRrzond pic.twitter.com/sIO2CtmOkF
Upon seeing all of this news flood in, doubt creeped in about his Week 1 availability given the other back issues he suffered this summer, but now Falcons fans can rest a little easier, because not only did it look like nothing worse than a spasm or some tightness, we have more clarity to go around.
Falcons may have dodged a bullet on the Tua Tagovailoa injury front
Per ESPN's Marc Raimondi, the 28-year-old was limited in Thursday's practice due to an oblique injury--so it wasn't even a back thing either. So from where I'm sitting, it sounds like all of this was overblown just because there was a flare-up and there is nothing to freak out about currently.
While the fact that he was limited could just be Atlanta crediting Tagovailoa for starting off practice, but a limited designation is much better than a Thursday DNP. Yes, we'll still have to monitor the extent of his practice status tomorrow, but right now, all signs point to him still being able to start.
Question the former Pro Bowler's capabilities all you want, but rolling with Cooper Rush in Kevin Stefanski's Falcons debut (and the season opener) would have been a legit nightmare. With Michael Penix Jr. set to be inactive, no team wants to be down to their third-stringer this early into the season.
The Dirty Birds named Tagovailoa their Week 1 starter just three days ago, and this new regime is banking on him to turn his career around despite his injury history. It's so easy to scan an injury report or see him go down and panic because of that history, but sometimes it doesn't tell the whole story.
The Falcons don't take the field until Sunday afternoon, so given this is likely just tightness (and he did practice today), it's fair to assume Tua will play. And whether you like or don't like Tua Tagovailoa, every Atlanta Falcons fan should be happy to know he's okay and there's no reason to worry.
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