32-Year-Old Quarterback Named Falcons 2026 Week One Starter
Back on March 13th, Tua Tagovailoa signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. This move came after the Miami Dolphins saw a steady decline in the 2023 Pro Bowl quarterback’s performance after a barrage of injuries and concussions. However, in Atlanta, the Falcons saw belief in the 28-year-old, so much so that they named him as the Week One starter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, on Thursday, September 10th, Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury and was a limited participant. Due to the injury, Atlanta had 32-year-old quarterback Cooper Rush take part in the first team’s reps at practice. Now, it has been reported by Adam Schefter that the 28-year-old has been ruled out for their opening matchup against Pittsburgh, and Rush is the new Week One starter after Tagovailoa’s injury.
Last season with the Baltimore Ravens, Rush struggled, throwing for 303 passing yards and four interceptions in five games. A year before that, with the Dallas Cowboys, the 32-year-old made a name for himself by tossing for 1,844 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 12 games, leading the Cowboys to a 5-7 record over that stretch. With the Falcons desperately looking to reset the culture, it’s now up to the 32-year-old’s hands to make a statement against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. Will that be something he’s able to do with the weapons Rush is provided?
During this Week One matchup against the Steelers, I would anticipate that Rush and the Falcons will rely on running back Bijan Robinson to guide them through the win. Surely, the 32-year-old quarterback has options to throw to, such as Drake London or Kyle Pitts; however, with the franchise cornerstone that Robinson is, I wouldn’t doubt it if Robinson was their main key to success come Sunday afternoon. Atlanta may not trust Rush to throw the ball every time around like a dominant starter usually would.
Where does this leave Tagovailoa? If Rush has a great start and gears the Falcons to a Week One win, what happens to the 2023 Pro Bowler? Surely, Atlanta will put the 28-year-old back in the starting position once he recovers from his injury, but the team has to have some sort of doubts about Tagovailoa’s injury history. You cannot forget Michael Penix Jr., who’s recovering from a torn ACL. It will just be a matter of who outperform who in practice and in each weekly start.
