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Cooper Rush to reportedly start for Falcons in Week 1 after Tua Tagovailoa sustained injury in practice

The Atlanta Falcons will turn to Cooper Rush as their starting quarterback for their regular-season kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rush, formerly with the Dallas Cowboys, takes over after Tua Tagovailoa went down during Thursday's practice session.

Tagovailoa, who had initially secured the starting job on Monday because Michael Penix Jr. was unready to take the field, hurt his oblique following a throw, clutched his lower back, and briefly collapsed to the turf.

Following the mishap, Tagovailoa sat out Friday's workout, and the team officially sidelined him for the Week 1 clash, categorizing his timeline as day-to-day and week-to-week. The sudden setback forces Atlanta to utilize Rush, who previously saw preseason action against the Indianapolis Colts on August 22, to handle signal-calling duties amid an escalating quarterback shortage.