FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta began its week of preparation ahead of Sunday's home opener against the Carolina Panthers with three quarterbacks listed on the injury report.
Fortunately, two of those players—Cooper Rush and Michael Penix Jr.—were full participants. Tua Tagovailoa, however, was not; he continues to recover from an oblique injury he sustained on Thursday leading up to the Falcons' season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ahead of Wednesday's practice, head coach Kevin Stefanski said that all quarterbacks were still under consideration to start in Week 2. This week of practices will go a long way in determining that decision.
RELATED CONTENT
"I'd say we're working through it," Stefanski said Wednesday. "I'm not ruling anyone out. Tua is not going to practice today, though he's getting better. Cooper and Mike will practice today, so we'll work through it."
Cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. and offensive guard Chris Lindstrom were both held out of practice on Wednesday. Terrell briefly left the game against the Steelers after injuring his shoulder while defending a pass for DK Metcalf. He said afterwards he "wasn't feeling good" at the time of the injury, but it was determined he could return to the game safely, which he did. Lindstrom sustained a concussion in the fourth quarter and was ruled out shortly thereafter.
The other player to note is second-year defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. He sustained an Achilles injury that ended his rookie season but logged a week of practices in Week 1 and was a full participant on Wednesday.
Here is Atlanta's injury report as preparation begins for the Panthers:
Wednesday, Sept. 16
Full participation
- CB Billy Bowman Jr. (Achilles)
- QB Michael Penix Jr. (Knee)
- QB Cooper Rush (Back)
Limited participation
- N/A
Did not participate
- OG Chris Lindstrom (Concussion)
- QB Tua Tagovailoa (Oblique)
- CB A.J. Terrell (Shoulder)
