A late-week injury has put Cooper Rush in the middle of Atlanta’s Week 1 plans.
Rush, signed by the Falcons on opening day of training camp in late July, suddenly found himself taking first-team reps on Thursday after newly named starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa injured his oblique during individual drills at the Sept. 10 Falcons practice. Tagovailoa is listed as a limited practice participant on the injury report, and his status for Sunday’s opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers is now in question.
“They kind of just told me ‘you’re up,’” Rush told reporters after Thursday’s practice.
That meant a bigger role for Rush, who had spent most of camp behind the scenes. After making the 53-man roster in a quarterback room that carries four passers, and then landing as the backup on the initial depth chart, Thursday gave him a real chance to run the Atlanta offense with the first unit.
“It was a good day,” Rush recapped the practice. “It was good to get out there, get some good real reps with that group, and we’ll see what happens.”
He hadn’t had many chances to work with the starters before that, aside from a stretch early in camp when both Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. were unavailable.
The Falcons liked what they saw. All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom praised Rush’s work after practice.
“He was great,” said Falcons All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom.
“His cadence was just picking up the rhythm of it. He does such a great job of being consistent. And consistency is the most important thing with that, to get off on timing.”
Lindstrom also said Rush’s communication was “excellent.”
Atlanta is also trying to get comfortable with a new offensive setup under first-year coordinator Tommy Rees, and Rush said he’s ready if Tagovailoa can’t go Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I’m up to speed,” Rush said, explaining that the coaching staff has made the system easy to absorb. “It’s a testament to the staff how well it’s coached that you can follow along and pick it up pretty quickly in terms of how it’s organized, the systematic stuff of it,” Rush said. “That’s been really helpful, and everybody in their first year together definitely helps it too.”
Rush has had only a limited run as a starter across his NFL career, but he has been there before. According to StatMuse, he is 9-7 as a starter in stops with the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens. He has dropped his last three starts, including a 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last October with Baltimore, when he completed 11 of 19 passes for 72 yards and threw an interception in relief of Lamar Jackson.
Still, the veteran said the job is simple: be ready whenever the call comes.
“You just got to stay ready,” Rush said. “Some weeks you might not have any reps.
So having reps today helps you get ready, whether you’re starting or not. So I’ll take advantage of those either way.
The mindset never changes.”
The Falcons open against the Steelers at 1 p.m. Sunday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, with FOX carrying the broadcast. Atlanta is trying to beat Pittsburgh for the first time since 2006.
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