Tua Tagovailoa went down during Thursday’s practice with an oblique injury.
During individual drills, Tua threw a pass, immediately reached toward the right side of his back and eventually dropped down before sitting on the grass for several seconds. He eventually got back up, but didn’t throw again during the portion of practice open to the media.
That’s not exactly what Atlanta wanted to see three days before Week 1.
Tua was officially listed as a limited participant, and reports indicate he’s considered day-to-day ahead of Sunday’s opener against Pittsburgh.
The timing couldn’t be much worse.
Atlanta announced Monday that Tua would start the opener while Michael Penix Jr. remains inactive as he works his way back from ACL surgery. Now there’s a legitimate possibility the Falcons could be forced to turn to Cooper Rush instead.
Rush said he took all of the first-team reps after Tua’s injury Thursday.
And the bigger concern is Tua’s recent injury history.
He already dealt with a back issue early in training camp that kept him out of team periods for several practices. Thursday’s injury is officially being called an oblique issue rather than another back injury, but seeing Tua grabbing his side and sitting on the grass is still concerning.
Atlanta signed Tua hoping he could provide stability while Penix recovered.
Instead, the Falcons could potentially enter Week 1 with Cooper Rush as their starting quarterback and Penix unavailable.
Maybe Tua recovers quickly and starts Sunday.
But considering everything Atlanta has already dealt with at quarterback, Thursday’s image of Tua sitting on the grass was about the last thing Falcons fans wanted to see.
