Per Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa briefly went to the ground during throwing drills on Thursday with an apparent back injury.
Reggie Chatman Jr. posted a video on social media of the injury, where Tagovailoa went to the ground for a short moment holding his back before standing on the side for the remaining portion of practice open to the media.
#WATCH: I happened to catch the moment #Falcons QB Tua Tagovailoa went down briefly during the open portion of #Falcons practice
He stood off to the side for the rest of the period we were able to watch. https://t.co/VyzfRrzond pic.twitter.com/sIO2CtmOkF
— Reggie Chatman Jr. (@ReggieChatman) September 10, 2026
According to Marc Raimondi, Falcons QB Cooper Rush said he took all the first-team reps in practice on Thursday, confirming Tagovailoa didn’t participate in team portions after his back flared up.
It’s worth noting Tagovailoa missed the first week of training camp with back spasms.
Tagovailoa was named the team’s Week 1 starter with Michael Penix Jr. still working back to full health after an ACL injury, but reports suggested he could have a “short leash.”
Some have even gone as far as to say Tagovailoa could be let go if he’s benched due to performance in the first few games, but his Week 1 status appears to be up in the air now.
Tagovailoa, 28, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.
The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season.
From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million, with $167 million guaranteed. Miami released Tagovailoa this offseason, and he signed a one-year deal with the Falcons.
In 2025, Tagovailoa appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.
We’ll have more on the Tagovailoa and the Falcons’ QB situation as the news becomes available.
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