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    RapSheet: ‘Likely’ that Tagovailoa starts Week 1

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    NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes Tua Tagovailoa will ‘likely’ start Week 1 for the Falcons.

    This has been sort of the working assumption for a while as Tagovailoa is taking first-team reps while Michael Penix hasn’t been cleared for full-contact work yet. Tagovalioa remained limited with a back injury today in camp, but obviously if there’s no healthy Penix, there can be no competition.
Legendary Bears head coach Ditka dies at 86
Chicago Bears icon and Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka has died at age 86. Chris Simms and Connor Rogers reflect on his legendary life in football and explore his enduring impact on the sport.

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    Penix wasn’t asked to do much with his arm as the Falcons tied a franchise record with five rushing scores, but the threat of consistent and reliable passing has done wonders for a Falcons offense that looked lost through two games behind poor quarterback play. It also doesn’t hurt when your All Pro running back goes for a 59-yard touchdown on his first touch of the game. The Falcons were never threatened by an underperforming Saints team after jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter. Penix has yet to be called on for increased passing volume through two starts, something that could change, pending the health of Lamar Jackson, in Week 5 when they host the Ravens. Penix remains a middling QB2 and does not warrant starting in all formats outside of two-quarterback leagues.
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    The final stat line looks more impressive when you consider Penix started the game 1-of-5 passing with an interception, settling into the game from there to go on to complete 17 of his final 20 pass attempts. As was the case during his rookie season, Penix leaned on his top option through the air, feeding Drake London 10 targets that the talented receiver parlayed into a gaudy 194 yards, with no other pass-catcher surpassing the 19 yards receiving of running back Bijan Robinson. The Falcons improve to 1-2 on the young season while handing the Packers their first home opener loss in 14 years. Penix has all the look of an upside QB2 and deserves streaming consideration ahead of a road matchup with the Saints in Week 4.
  • ATL Quarterback #1
    Tagovailoa joins a jumbled Falcons backup quarterback group for Thursday Night Football. He does not need to be rostered in 12-team leagues. The Falcons will start QB Michael Penix (knee).
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    Tagovailoa, fighting injuries for much of the offseason, missed Atlanta’s first two games with an oblique issue. He’ll return just in time to serve as backup to Michael Penix, who’s returning from a 2025 ACL injury. Penix is set to start Thursday night against a Packers defense allowing the ninth lowest adjusted yards per pass attempt.
  • ATL Quarterback #1
    With Michael Penix already named the starter, Tagovailoa will be aiming to back him up in Week 3’s TNF clash with the Packers. The 28-year-old veteran got in a full session on Tuesday.
  • ATL Quarterback #9
    Penix will make his first start since Week 11 of last season, when he suffered a torn ACL against the Panthers. If he plays well enough, Penix will have a chance to secure the starting job for the remainder of the season, but he will have Tua Tagovailoa looming in the background once he is fully recovered from his oblique injury. Penix has struggled early in his career, throwing for 2,757-12-6 in 14 career games while completing just 59.6 percent of his passes. It seems unlikely that he will hold onto the job for the remaining 15 games of the season, but he’ll get the first legitimate crack at it after the Falcons were forced to start Cooper Rush for the first two weeks of the season. Penix shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a low-end QB2 for fantasy purposes on Thursday night against the Packers.
  • ATL Quarterback #1
    Stefanski said the team will “work through what that means for this week.” Time will tell whether or not that means Tagovailoa has a chance to play in Week 3 against the Packers on Thursday night, as the Falcons have a number of ways they can go at QB this week after another disastrous outing by Cooper Rush. Tagovailoa did not log a practice last week, but Michael Penix (knee) was a full participant. It would be fair to assume that Penix is closer to returning than Tua, but we’ll see where things stand when the team releases its estimated injury report later today.
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    With the Falcons set to play on Thursday night, Stefanski will have little time to prepare his starter for the week. It’s hard to imagine the team going back to Cooper Rush after back-to-back disastrous starts to open the season, which could pave the way for rookie UDFA Jack Strand to make the start of Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix Jr. (knee) still aren’t ready to go. Strand completed 8-of-15 passes for 59 yards and an interception in his first taste of NFL action. Stefanski did say he had a “decent idea” of who he thinks he will be starting this week, so we’ll likely have our answer soon.
  • ATL Quarterback #9
    Per Schefter and Ian Rapoport, Penix is the team’s preferred starter and is nearing a return. Once he is finally ready to suit up, the job is his. They also note that the Falcons won’t cut Tua Tagovailoa, even once the team has four healthy quarterbacks. There is a possibility that a team wants to trade for Tua ahead of the midseason deadline, though we’re skeptical that there’s much of a market for him after this disastrous start to the season.
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    The Falcons have already named QB Cooper Rush (back) the Week 2 starter. Tagovailoa would only serve as a backup if he is somehow active. He does not need to be rostered in 12-team leagues.

Rotoworld

  • WAS Wide Receiver #3
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    Stefon Diggs (hamstring) will not play in Week 5 against the Giants.

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    Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Jayden Daniels (elbow) will start in Week 5 against the Giants.

  • CIN Wide Receiver #5
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    Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Tee Higgins (groin/neck) is questionable for Week 5 against the Dolphins.

    Higgins missed the first two practices of the week but was able to get on the field in some capacity on Friday. We would consider him to be truly questionable given his one day of practice, meaning fantasy managers will want to check his official game status when the team announces inactives 90 minutes before kickoff. If he can’t go, Dohnte Meyers, who saw nine targets last week, could be on the fantasy radar as a WR4 in deeper leagues.
  • LV Running Back #2
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    Ashton Jeanty (ankle/foot) was not spotted at Friday’s practice.

    Jeanty has been dealing with the ankle injury throughout the week, but the foot injury was added after Thursday’s practice. Jeanty was officially listed as limited on Thursday, but the Raiders’ RB1 was absent from the media portion of Friday’s practice. We will receive final word on his Week 5 availability soon, but rookie Mike Washington could be in line for a busy day against the Patriots if Jeanty is unable to go.
  • BAL Quarterback #8
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    Lamar Jackson (ankle) did not practice on Friday.

    Jackson did not practice this week, but head coach Jesse Minter said on Wednesday that his QB1 could still play even if he doesn’t practice. We’ve heard this one too many times when it comes to Jackson and nagging injuries, and it’s not often we see him suit up in these scenarios. His status will be one to keep an eye on when the team releases its final injury report, but even if Jackson is given the questionable tag, we would recommend stashing an emergency option at QB in the event he doesn’t start. Given that the Ravens play on Sunday night, Jackson’s backup, Tyler Huntley, and Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr. would be the most logical stashes as Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen, who play on Monday night, are rostered in nearly every league.
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    Carnell Tate (back) is good to go for Week 5 against the Texans.

    Tate popped up on Thursday’s injury report with a back injury, but it appears that was mostly due to some tightness that isn’t expected to slow him in Week 5. Tate has seen 21 targets over the last two weeks and has posted a 15-203-0 line over that span. He has some solid WR3/FLEX appeal against a Texans defense that has struggled against the pass early in the season.
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    Ja’Marr Chase (concussion) was seen practicing on Friday.

    Chase still needs to clear concussion protocol if he hopes to suit up for Week 5’s game against the Dolphins. That said, he appears to be trending toward being able to play after logging back-to-back practices to close out the week. Tee Higgins (groin/neck), who was a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday was also seen sprinting and running routes on Friday, which suggests he could also be good to go for Sunday’s game. We will check back in with official game day statuses in the coming hours when the team releases its final injury report.
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    Stefon Diggs (hamstring) is not practicing on Friday.

    Diggs was unable to get on the practice field this week and will likely be ruled out for Week 5’s game against the Giants in the next few hours. Rookie receiver Antonio Williams would again be in line for a busy day and could be the favorite to lead the team in targets this week, especially if Terry McLaurin (hamstring) also misses this week. McLaurin’s status remains wait and see after he was spotted on the practice field Friday after being a DNP on the first two days.
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    NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the “belief is that D’Andre Swift (hip/knee) should be able to go” in Week 5 against the Packers.

    We will get a better sense of Swift’s availability soon when the Bears release their final injury report of the week. After being a DNP in Wednesday’s practice, Swift was able to log a limited session on Thursday, which is a good sign for his availability with one practice left to go. Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe), who has yet to practice this week, could be at risk of missing Week 5, which could lead to a busy day for Swift, while Roschon Johnson would serve as the Bears’ RB2.
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    Adonai Mitchell (finger) will not play in Week 5 against the Brown.

    Mitchell will miss his third straight game with the finger injury he sustained in practice, ahead of Week 3’s game against the Lions. During Mitchell’s absence, Isaiah Williams has run 59 routes, the second-most of any Jets receiver, but has seen just five targets. Garrett Wilson is the only reliable receiver in this passing game, while rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq is a boom-or-bust option against a defense that has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.