The Atlanta Falcons have named Tua Tagovailoa their Week 1 starter over Michael Penix Jr. against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Penix has been cleared to play, but he is not yet ready to start NFL games after tearing his ACL last November. Penix will be inactive, with Cooper Rush dressing as the backup QB.
Tagovailoa posted a 67.7% completion rate, 6.9 yards per attempt, and a mere 12.6 fantasy points per game in 2025. He is a low-end streaming QB2 for Week 1. Once fully ramped up and active, Penix will be a mid-tier QB2 with significantly more long-term appeal than Tagovailoa. Monitor this situation as Penix is PlayerProfiler’s QB33 for fantasy football dynasty leagues.
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The Atlanta Falcons will keep four quarterbacks on their initial 53 man roster. Former Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Michael Penix Jr. continue to compete for ATL QB1 with only one week to go until the 2026 season opener.
Penix, who is coming off an ACL injury, was cleared for 11 on 11 during the last week of ATL’s last preseason game. He seems to be the preferred option over veteran QB Tua Tagovailoa. The Falcons were expected to round out their QB room with former Cowboy QB Cooper Rush until Tagovailoa was held out of practice with back tightness early in camp. That opened the door for undrafted rookie Jack Strand to impress, as GM Ian Cunningham said Strand did an “admirable” job throughout camp.
If the Falcons decide they are confident in the health of Penix and his 13.7 fantasy points per game from 2025 and name him the starter over Tagovailoa (12.6FPPG in 2025), they would likely cut Rush or Strand and stick with 3 QBs.
~Justin Teck
What a mess. Adam Schefter reported that Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with back tightness, and soon after, the Falcons signed Cooper Rush for depth. Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. was seen Wednesday practicing in seven-on-seven drills but told local media that it would be another “another four weeks, probably, before going to the next stage.”
On July 31, 2026, Falcons beat writer Marc Raimondi reported that Tua Tagovailoa “did a walkthrough period at about half speed this morning.” Though NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes Tagovailoa will “likely start” Week 1 for the Falcons, this is the ultimate stayaway quarterback room in all fantasy football formats.
Drake London‘s projection is holding for now, but he needs baseline competence from the QB position to produce Top-10 WR fantasy numbers.
The Baltimore Ravens have sneakily added to their quarterback room. Oftentimes, being without a viable quarterback leaves contending teams in a perilous situation. In steps Cooper Rush to backup Lamar Jackson.
Cooper Rush will earn up to $12.2 million on a 2-year contract. Filling in for an injured Dak Prescott, Rush managed to have 3 top-15 quarterback finishes in a 4 game span weeks 12-15. He also made sure that CeeDee Lamb did not become irrelevant in fantasy football, something the Dolphins can’t claim for their 2024 campaign with Tyreek Hill and an injured Tua Tagovailoa.
Cooper Rush is a fine superflex stash in Dynasty formats where he will immediately be in an elite offense should Lamar Jackson miss time. This move also gives further confidence in drafting Ravens skill position players. From a real life and fantasy perspective, the Ravens capitalized in a big way from signing Cooper Rush.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
