Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out of the Atlanta Falcons’ season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers after suffering an oblique injury in practice.
The quarterback was limited during Thursday’s session after appearing to be in discomfort during the portion open to the media. He briefly sat down on the field before leaving the first-team work.
Tagovailoa did not practise on Friday, and the Falcons confirmed that he will miss Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh. The fixture had been due to mark his first competitive appearance for Atlanta since joining the team in the off-season.
Cooper Rush has taken all of the first-team practice reps since Tagovailoa was injured and is expected to start in his place. Rush had originally been designated as Tagovailoa’s back-up for the Steelers game.
Michael Penix Jr., who had been recovering from a knee injury, has also been ruled out and will be inactive. The Falcons’ latest game report listed Tagovailoa and Penix among the players unavailable for the opening contest.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski had named Tagovailoa Atlanta’s starter earlier this week following a competition involving the team’s four quarterbacks.
