Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was announced as the starter for Week 1 of the 2026 season. However, a non-contact injury during Thursday’s practice has sidelined him for at least the opener. No matter how harsh that sounds for Tagovailoa’s fresh start in Atlanta, some observers are already asking whether the injury is legitimate or simply a convenient excuse.
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“I ain’t seen nobody hitting, bro. What happened right there,” former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James “Deebo” Harrison said on the Deebo & Joe podcast after watching the clip. “Listen, Tua had some back issues earlier in training camp. And he played two of the three games during preseason for Atlanta. So he got two of the three. Pennix is still not ready. He working his way back from an ACL tear. So the starting quarterback against the Steelers looks like it’s gonna be Cooper Rush or it could be Tua if he can play.”
During Thursday’s session, Tagovailoa was taking part in drills and threw a pass in the media-viewing portion. As soon as he released the ball, he grabbed his back and sat down on the grass. He then stood up and jogged off to the sideline, per the clip shared online. The veteran quarterback did not throw another pass while the media was present.
Reports later confirmed that Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury and would be out for Week 1. His recovery is considered day-to-day, and if he cannot play, backup Cooper Rush will start in his place. Still, Harrison offered his own “theories” about why Tagovailoa went down.
“I know what happened, allegedly. I’m thinking if and I was in the same position and I was him. Not me, of course…They was watching game tape. And you get to that Thursday, Friday game tape, and they start pressure. You showing pressures, reds, all that. You know, you showing all that.
“What happened was the Steelers, when he played in Miami over there last year, that tape came up, and that man started having flashbacks, and that man said, ‘Hey, let me get up out of here. I’m pulling my back, oblique, everything, my a-s, everything. I’m pulling whatever I need to do before I get in here, and they done named me the starting quarterback,” Harrison added.
According to Harrison, Tagovailoa saw his tape against the Steelers and backed out. The game he referenced was from last season, Week 15, when the Miami Dolphins traveled to Pittsburgh. That turned out to be Tagovailoa’s final appearance with Miami before he was benched in favor of 2025 seventh-round draft pick Quinn Ewers.
Even though Tagovailoa posted respectable numbers in that game, with 253 passing yards, two touchdowns, and just one interception, he struggled in a 28-15 loss to the Steelers.
It is not certain that Tagovailoa was scared of the Steelers, and it does seem far-fetched to imagine a veteran quarterback getting a second chance at his career would make an excuse. Before the preseason, he did deal with minor back tightness in early training camp but still suited up for two preseason games.
The Falcons named Tagovailoa their starter and will lean on Cooper Rush until he returns. However, Tagovailoa was always a short-term solution for the team, serving as a bridge until franchise quarterback Michael Penix Jr. recovers from his knee injury.