After all that hoopla, the Atlanta Falcons are back to square one. The team was already working with damaged goods after they signed QB Tua Tagovailoa suffering from back tightness, while their QB1, Michael Penix Jr., recovered from his ACL tear. Yet, as the preseason approached, Tagovailoa’s playing style cleared his name to start against the Steel Curtain defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But a usual Thursday practice got new head coach Kevin Stefanski back in the chair.

Yesterday, the Falcons announced that their third-string QB, Cooper Rush, was going to open their season against the Steelers. If things weren’t already looking grim, Stefanski had yet another deja vu on his hands just a day later. But if things go right, Sunday could be yet another ending for one of the QBs.

QB3 Cooper Rush was experiencing “back spasms” on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. But “the team said he still will start Sunday at Pittsburgh,” he added.

Rush was initially signed to add another arm to the QB room as Tagovailoa was already suffering from back tightness. On Thursday, things took a turn for the worse for the former Miami Dolphins QB1.

During the practice in Flowery Branch, Tagovailoa threw a pass and immediately grabbed at his side before sitting down on the field. The good news was that he got up quickly and jogged off the field on his own power; he still did not throw another pass for the rest of the viewing period. Instead, it was Rush who came in. Apparently, catching up to speed was not a task either.

Rush said on Friday that catching up wasn’t hard, noting that it is the “testament to the staff” and that “you can follow along and pick it up pretty quickly in terms of how it’s organized.”

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback got some time to get back into the groove with some preseason snaps, and he tallied 30 of his 48 pass attempts for 254 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions, for a passer rating of 65.8. Though not impressive, the numbers are safe, and that’s what Atlanta has to rely on for at least the Steelers game. He has since received back-to-back first-team reps on Thursday and Friday.

“It’s huge,” Cooper Rush said. “All those reps matter, and it’s a big advantage for me. If you have to go in there, at least you have some reps.”

However, Rush can force Stefanski to keep Tagovailoa on the bench for a much longer time.

Tagovailoa could ride the pine longer in one scenario

The Falcons’ former QB1 is making swift progress but is still limited in practice, and Stefanski would rather be safe than sorry. What works in everyone’s favor is the Falcons’ T-28th easiest schedule this season. But much more importantly, it could help Rush.

Considering oblique injuries are notorious and can take as much as a month to recover, Tagovailoa could be missing a crucial stretch of the schedule.

The Falcons face three playoff teams in their first four games. However, all those three teams were out in their wild card rounds. This gives Rush an advantage of sorts, because while he will be playing the teams in positions where the Falcons want to be, he could still diminish their winning probabilities. And he is no stranger to coming onto the field under pressure. Head coach Stefanski said as much.

He said Friday that Rush “has been a backup in this league” and “knows how to prepare.” Despite being a QB2, he has started 16 games and has a record of 9-7. He spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens and 7 seasons split across two stints with the Dallas Cowboys. In these past nine seasons, Rush has recorded 3,766 yards and 20 touchdowns.

While he hasn’t started for Atlanta, he gave them a preview of what he can do in relief during the preseason finale against Miami, going 13 of 18 for 106 yards and a touchdown after replacing Tagovailoa. A clean, efficient game gave Tagovailoa the ball over Penix Jr. Now, Rush’s similar start against Pittsburgh could add weight to the question hanging over Atlanta’s quarterback room.

“If Cooper Rush plays well, Atlanta’s not going to put Tua [Tagovailoa] back on the field just to put him back on the field,” ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said bluntly on NFL on ESPN yesterday.

However, what happens after the Week 1 opener is still a mystery. Will Tagovailoa be cleared, or will Rush continue? And if the latter fails, who will Atlanta turn to then?

The Falcons could be forced to test a rookie after Week-1

The team has clearly said that Rush will be starting in Week 1 and that could stretch for a much longer period, depending on how the other two QB’s on the depth chart feel. However, there’s a chance that Rush also fails to save the Falcons. In such a case, the team has a backup in undrafted rookie Jack Strand.

It seems that with Trevor Siemian’s departure and Penix being out for a while, the Falcons knew they needed four quarterbacks on the roster to avoid any further damage. Strand, who will be Cooper Rush’s backup on Sunday, generated some hype about him during the preseason.

He completed 24 for 36 (66.7%) passes for 306 yards with a touchdown and an interception. NFL.com’s Grant Gordon has already predicted that the rookie will eventually take over as QB1.

“Atlanta will see Strand end the season with more starts than Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa,” Gordon wrote. “Strand will start more than half the campaign for Atlanta, showing some promise, but not enough to dissuade the Falcons from plucking a quarterback in the talent-rich 2027 NFL Draft.”

The 6-foot-5, 243-pounder was also trending on X on Thursday following the wave of injuries, including Tua’s oblique issue.

Strand also practiced with the first team in training camp with Tagovailoa and Penix Jr. both out in the initial days. If Stefanski and Co. run into more trouble, Strand will perhaps make the wildest jump among all UDFAs signed this year; he’d go from QB4 to QB1 in his first-ever season.

The Falcons will play the Steelers on Sunday, and Rush would want to perform despite his knock to strengthen his place as the backup QB ahead of Penix Jr.