The Falcons didn’t wait around to patch up their quarterback room.
Before training camp even got rolling, Atlanta moved on from Trevor Siemian with a non-football injury designation after he re-aggravated the calf issue that had already kept him out of OTAs and mandatory minicamp. That left the team needing a veteran presence behind Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa and Jack Strand, and the answer came fast.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Falcons signed Cooper Rush about 15 minutes before their first practice was scheduled to begin.
Rush brings plenty of mileage to the job. He spent most of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, including two separate stretches from 2017-2019 and 2020-2024, before spending 2025 with the Baltimore Ravens as Lamar Jackson’s backup while Jackson was out with a hamstring injury.
His time in Baltimore was uneven. In four appearances last season, Rush made two starts, and the numbers weren’t kind: in a 44-10 loss in Week 5, he threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. He was benched for Tyler Huntley in Week 6 and later settled into the Ravens’ QB3 role once Jackson returned.
Across nine NFL seasons, Rush has appeared in 38 games and started 16. Eight of those starts came in relief of Dak Prescott with the Cowboys in 2024, where he performed well enough to keep himself in the conversation for a roster spot like this one.
Now the focus shifts to Atlanta’s QB3 battle. Strand, an undrafted rookie, has turned heads this summer, but he still has room to grow. Rush gives the Falcons the more established option if they decide experience should win out, and he also gives them exactly what they were looking for in the room: a veteran who can help steady things through camp.
He may not be flashy, but that’s not the assignment. He’s there to compete with Strand and provide leadership, and in a quarterback room this thin, that matters.
In Other News...
Falcons Just Got The Michael Penix Jr. Update They Feared
Michael Penix Jr. is headed into training camp with his timeline still lagging behind the rest of the Falcons quarterback room, a frustrating reality for a player trying to establish himself after another major knee setback. Penix said his latest ACL issue is the third of his career in seven years, and the team is already bracing for him to miss the kind of full-speed work that usually matters most when jobs are being sorted out in camp.
Kevin Stefanski confirmed Penix will not be ready when camp opens, which leaves Atlanta in a familiar but uncomfortable spot at the most important position on the field. With Penix unable to take part in full contact right away, the Falcons are trending toward starting the season with Tua Tagovailoa under center, and the longer this delay runs, the harder it becomes for Penix to force his way into the picture early. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Camp Has A Quarterback Problem Fans Feared Most
The Falcons quarterback room has been thinned to a point few teams ever want to reach in camp. Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with a back injury, Michael Penix Jr. is still working back from ACL surgery and not yet fit for team drills, and the result has been a scramble for reps that has put the spotlight on depth rather than development.
Atlanta has already moved to patch things together by releasing Trevor Siemian because of a non-football injury and bringing in Cooper Rush, while undrafted Jack Strand has been taking first-team snaps. For a team that expected camp to be about sorting out roles, the bigger question now is simply how long it can keep the offense moving before the quarterback picture settles down. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Rookie Absence Just Opened A Door Fans Werent Expecting
The Falcons defensive tackle picture got a little more interesting this spring when the team added undrafted rookie Carlos Allen Jr. and then watched a separate rookie, sixth-round pick Anterio Thompson, get slowed before camp even really began. Thompsons absence during rookie minicamp and OTAs has already changed the way the interior line reps are being distributed, and it has created a cleaner opening for a player who arrived without draft-day fanfare but with a chance to make noise.
Allen Jr. now heads into training camp with a real opportunity to press for a roster spot, which is more than most undrafted linemen can say at this stage. Atlanta already has bodies in the defensive tackle rotation, but the combination of Thompsons delay and Allen Jr.s production in college gives the Falcons another name to watch as they sort out who can help them up front. [Read more 🡒]