Major NFL Team Now Has Multiple Injured Quarterbacks

The Atlanta Falcons have just started training camp, but the NFC South team is dealing with injuries to both quarterbacks competing for the starting job.

Incumbent Michael Penix Jr. continues to recover from surgery to repair a torn ACL that ended his 2025-26 campaign. He leads 7-on-7 drills, but he is not taking part in the 11-on-11 drills featuring full offensive and defensive lineups.

Penix also told reporters that it could be another four weeks before he moves into the next stage of his recovery.

Tua Tagovailoa, who joined the Falcons after being cut by the Dolphins, is not practicing early in training camp. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that he had something “flare up.” He did not provide details, but ESPN reported it pertained to Tagovailoa’s back.

“Tua is dealing with an injury right now. It’s not long-term,” Stefanski said. “He’ll be out there sooner than later. But we’ll work through that in the next couple days.”

With both potential starting quarterbacks injured, the Falcons have done some shuffling the training camp roster. Undrafted rookie Jack Strand has taken on a much larger role during team drills while the Falcons have also brought in veteran backup Cooper Rush.

Rush will replace Trevor Siemian, another veteran that the Falcons released with a non-football injury.

A Super Bowl participant in 2016, the Falcons have fallen on hard times in terms of win and losses. This team has not made the playoffs since the 2017 season, and it has gone through multiple head coaches.

The Falcons ended last season tied for first in the division with an 8-9 record, but the team missed the playoffs due to the Panthers having the tiebreaker.

Returning to the playoffs, and ultimately, the Super Bowl remains the priority for the NFC South team, but Polymarket traders do not see this happening.

Traders currently believe that the Falcons will struggle to contend in the NFC South. These traders list the Buccaneers as the favorites at 35%. The Saints rank second at 26%. The Panthers are third at 22%.

The Falcons currently have a 21% chance to win the NFC South, according to the Polymarket traders.

The numbers do not favor the Falcons as the focus shifts to the overall NFC. The Rams lead the way at 24% as the Polymarket favorites to win the conference and reach Super Bowl 61.

The Falcons are much lower at the list. These traders give the team a mere 2% chance to win the NFC for the first time since 2016.

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