Tua Tagovailoa is set to return to the Atlanta Falcons’ game-day roster after missing the first two games of the 2026 NFL season with an oblique injury. Michael Penix Jr. has been named Atlanta’s starting quarterback for the Week 3 matchup at Lambeau Field, while Tagovailoa is expected to serve as his backup. However, his return against the Green Bay Packers does not mean he will start. The Falcons listed Tagovailoa without a game designation on their final injury report, clearing him to play.
Tagovailoa suffered the oblique injury during practice on September 10, just before the Falcons’ season opener. He was ruled out for Week 1 and also missed Atlanta’s Week 2 game against the Carolina Panthers. His status improved during Week 3 preparations. Tagovailoa returned to full participation in practice on Tuesday, September 22, giving Atlanta a positive update ahead of Thursday night’s game. The Falcons have confirmed that Penix will start, marking his first appearance of the 2026 season after recovering from a torn ACL suffered last November. That leaves Tagovailoa as Atlanta’s backup quarterback for the Week 3 game. The Atlanta Falcons confirmed that Tagovailoa had no game designation on the final injury report, while NFL also listed Penix as Atlanta’s Week 3 starter.
The team then released its final injury report without a game designation for the quarterback, meaning he was available for the Packers game. The injury kept him from making his regular-season debut for the Falcons after he joined the team during the offseason. Cooper Rush, who started the first two games while both Penix and Tagovailoa were unavailable, moves down the quarterback depth chart.
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski had earlier said Tagovailoa was “trending in the right direction. Tagovailoa will return in today’s game against the Packers, but he is not expected to take the first snap.
