Falcons Turn to Cooper Rush as QB2 for Week 1 as Michael Penix Jr. Ruled Inactive vs. Steelers

The Atlanta Falcons handed their Week 1 quarterback plan a late twist on Monday, naming veteran Cooper Rush as the backup to newly announced starter Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The bigger surprise was who won’t be suiting up: Michael Penix Jr., last year’s starter, will be inactive as he continues working back from a torn ACL.

Rush, 32, signed with Atlanta on July 29 after a one-year stint in Baltimore fell apart, making the Falcons his third team in as many seasons following seven years with the Dallas Cowboys and a lone 2025 campaign with the Ravens. He joined the Falcons just as training camp opened, arriving at a moment when both Tagovailoa (back tightness) and Penix (ACL) were managing injuries, and quickly became a steadying veteran presence in a quarterback room that also includes undrafted rookie Jack Strand.

How Rush Landed in Atlanta

Rush’s path to Atlanta wasn’t smooth. He signed a two-year, $6.2 million deal with Baltimore last offseason but was released by the Ravens after just one season backing up Lamar Jackson, appearing in only four games with two starts and completing 34 of 52 passes for 303 yards with four interceptions and no touchdowns. That release sent him back to the open market, where the Falcons scooped him up on a one-year, $1.3 million contract to open camp.

The move gave Atlanta immediate quarterback insurance, and Rush made the most of his opportunity throughout the preseason, including a strong final tuneup against Miami in which he completed 13 of 18 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, the most attempts of any Falcons quarterback in the preseason finale. That performance, combined with his track record as one of the league’s most reliable backups, helped him beat out Strand for the No. 2 job.

A Career Built on Cowboys Success

Rush spent parts of nine NFL seasons with Dallas after going undrafted out of Central Michigan in 2017, developing into one of the most productive backup quarterbacks of his era. He went 9-5 as a starter during his Cowboys tenure, headlined by a 2022 stretch in which he became just the 14th quarterback in NFL history — and the first in franchise history — to win each of his first five career starts. His signature moment came in 2024, when he stepped in for an injured Dak Prescott in Week 9 and started eight games down the stretch, throwing for 1,844 yards with 12 touchdowns against five interceptions and an 83.8 passer rating, including a career-high three-touchdown outing in a win at Carolina.

For his career, Rush has appeared in 42 games with 16 starts, completing 61.1% of his passes for 3,766 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, going 9-7 overall as a starter. That resume made him an attractive fallback option for Atlanta once the Baltimore chapter didn’t work out, and it’s part of why oddsmakers and sportsbooks have kept the Falcons’ playoff outlook intact even amid the quarterback shuffle — a storyline worth watching for anyone tracking FanDuel promo code offers tied to Week 1 NFL action.

What It Means for the Falcons’ Quarterback Room

Head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to speculate on who might start beyond Week 1, but the decision to sit Penix speaks to how cautious Atlanta is being with his recovery. Penix started nine games for the Falcons in 2025 before tearing his ACL in November, completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions prior to the injury. He wasn’t cleared for full practice reps until the final week of training camp, and Stefanski indicated the call to keep him out of the opener was medically driven rather than performance-based.

That leaves Rush as the primary safety net behind Tagovailoa, who beat out Penix for the Week 1 nod after a monthslong competition. It marks the sixth different Week 1 starting quarterback for the Falcons in as many seasons, underscoring just how unsettled the position has been in Atlanta. For bettors monitoring the Falcons’ odds and season-long outlook, the quarterback situation remains one of the more fluid storylines in the NFC heading into the opener, and it’s the kind of depth-chart shakeup that can move lines quickly if Tagovailoa were to miss time. Rush’s experience stepping into starting duty on short notice, something he’s done multiple times in Dallas and briefly in Baltimore, gives Atlanta a level of comfort that few backup quarterbacks in the league can match.