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Cooper Rush will start at quarterback in the Atlanta Falcons’ season opener on Sunday in Pittsburgh after Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out with an oblique injury.
Rush signed with Atlanta on July 29, the opening day of training camp, after injuries left the Falcons without any of their top three quarterbacks, and it’s an injury that has elevated Rush to the start this week.
Atlanta had planned to start Tagovailoa, who signed a one-year deal in March, but Tagovailoa hurt himself early in Thursday’s practice while participating in a throwing drill.
Undrafted rookie Jack Strand will serve as Rush’s backup Sunday against the Steelers.
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Rush had only one series with the Falcons’ starters during training camp, he said, but took all of Atlanta’s first-team reps Thursday and Friday. Will he be ready to go on Sunday?
“That’s the life of a backup quarterback,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday. “In an ideal world, would you have liked to have gotten every rep? Of course, that’s a no-brainer, but I do think there are examples of guys who come in with no reps … and you’re expected to compete and hold the standard of the room.
“Cooper has been a backup. He’s been a starter. He knows how to prepare.”
Stefanski said Tagovailoa’s oblique injury is not related to the back tightness that caused him to miss the first week of training camp.
“Disappointed for him obviously,” Stefanski said. “He’s a very competitive person, but he’s going to rally behind Coop and do everything he can to help Cooper.”
Rush began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys in 2017. He spent seven seasons as a backup in Dallas, compiling a 9-5 record in 14 starts. He played for the Ravens last season, starting two games and losing both. However, he welcomes this opportunity.
“Every throw you throw to Drake (London), every throw you throw to Kyle (Pitts) matters,” Rush said. “The game prep doesn’t change mentally. I think that’s been an advantage of mine. I’ve always kind of kept it the same whether I am starting or not. Where things change is if you’re starting, you’ve got to talk with those (starting) wideouts, the O-line, ‘How’s the cadence?’ That type of stuff.”
The 6-foot-3, 224-pound Central Michigan alumnus played in all three Falcons preseason games, finishing a combined 30 of 48 for 254 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He has thrown for 3,766 regular-season yards with 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
He was working out at a gym in his hometown of Dallas when the Falcons called in July, he said.
“Kind of out of the blue they called the first day of camp, and it worked out,” he said. “I was happy about that. Good spot, good organization, good staff. I was happy and pumped.”
Tagovailoa was named the starting quarterback Monday after competing with Michael Penix Jr. for the job throughout camp. Penix told the Falcons coaching staff last week that he didn’t feel physically ready to play in a game yet after rehabbing a torn ACL throughout the offseason.
Penix was cleared for 11-on-11 practice work on Aug. 24 but did not appear in any preseason games and will be inactive on Sunday.
Stefanski said he doesn’t know when Penix will be ready, but it won’t be this week.
“Mike will be ready when he’s ready,” he said. “I trust in this process. I’m not going to get into next week. Like Mike said, he’s getting really, really close to being 100 percent and ready to go.”
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