Tua Tagovailoa

Tua is Atlanta's nominal Week 1 starter over rookie-ish backup Michael Penix, but by mid-September he was already fighting for his job before an oblique/back issue knocked him out of practice entirely. Cooper Rush has taken over first-team reps, and even healthy takes pegged him as a low-ceiling, scheme-capped passer facing a tough Pittsburgh pass rush. Right now he's a name-only QB1 whose actual availability is unresolved.

Early in the window, Establish The Run and Fantasy Feast doubted Tua would hold the job at all, expecting Penix to take over once cleared; then the Falcons named him Week 1 starter (The Audible, Fantasy Footballers), though FantasyPros still flagged a shrunken target funnel behind Penix-level expectations. That settled narrative blew up on 9/10-9/11 when five-plus shows (Fantasy Football Today, FantasyPros, The Audible, Fantasy Feast, Harris, Yahoo's Matt Harmon, The Ringer) reported an oblique/back injury with Cooper Rush taking over practice reps — Yahoo and The Ringer went as far as floating this as the end of his run as starter, while Harris mockingly wrote him off for the season.

The line: Don't trust Tua as a locked-in Week 1 starter — monitor the injury report and have Cooper Rush ready as the direct handcuff. · updated Sep 13