A flare-up, the sudden worsening of an existing injury, has sidelined Tua Tagovailoa before the Atlanta Falcons' training camp is even a week old. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the setback to reporters, though he did not name the specific injury. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the issue as a tight back.
A depth chart stripped to one
When Tagovailoa left practice, the only healthy quarterback on Atlanta's roster was Jack Strand, an undrafted rookie free agent. The Falcons had cut veteran Trevor Siemian earlier that same Wednesday. The sequence was bad timing: Siemian's release looked routine until Tagovailoa's flare-up came hours later.
The competition Stefanski had organized for this camp was between Tagovailoa, acquired this offseason, and Michael Penix Jr. Penix is not yet available. He tore his ACL last season and may miss the first four weeks of camp. He has been working through individual drills and 7-on-7 sessions but has not appeared in full team activities.
Penix addressed his approach to the recovery directly. "I have a long injury history," he said, via ESPN. "The last thing I want to do is rush back just to get back on the field. This is the third ACL. We're not taking it lightly." He sustained four season-ending injuries during his college career at Indiana before transferring to Washington.
Atlanta had already signed veteran backup Cooper Rush before Tagovailoa's injury, a move meant to address Penix's absence. It now covers a deeper hole than the Falcons likely anticipated.
What Stefanski said and what he didn't
Stefanski said he believes Tagovailoa will return "sooner rather than later." He offered no timeline beyond that phrase.
This is Stefanski's first training camp as Atlanta's head coach. The team has not reached the playoffs since 2017, the year Matt Ryan, now the team's president of football, was still the starting quarterback. Atlanta has posted a losing record in every season since.
The Falcons signed wide receiver Drake London to a reported $141 million contract this offseason, making him reportedly the third highest-paid receiver in the NFL. A healthy quarterback competition was the one piece still missing. It is missing still.