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    Palmer: Tua to back up Penix in Week 3

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    Amazon Prime’s James Palmer reports Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) will play in Week 3 against the Packers.

    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.
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  • ATL Quarterback #9
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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).
  • 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.
  • ATL Quarterback #18
    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.
  • ATL Quarterback #1
    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.
  • ATL Quarterback #9
    Cooper Rush will draw a second consecutive start under center and will be backed up by undrafted free agent rookie Jack Strand, with Tua Tagovailoa not yet ready to return from an oblique injury. Penix is expected to enter the starting lineup once cleared to return to game action as he continues his ramp-up process following a torn ACL suffered in 2025.
  • ATL Quarterback #13
    Rush is taking all of the first-team reps with the Falcons in Friday’s practice, and according to Rapoport, sources familiar with the situation expect Rush to get the nod on Sunday. With Rush under center, all Falcons pass-catchers receive a substantial downgrade after he struggled to move the ball in Week 1 against the Steelers. Fantasy managers hoping Drake London and Kyle Pitts can be of some value against a Panthers defense that allowed 269 yards and two passing TDs to the Bears last week should approach both players with caution. London is best trusted as more of a WR2, while Pitts, who saw one target on 21 routes last week, shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a boom-or-bust TE2 in what figures to be a run-heavy game for the Falcons.

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    Packers signed G Laken Tomlinson, formerly of the Texans.

    The veteran guard brings significant experience to a Packers team ranked at the bottom of the league in offensive line metrics, including 162 career starts. It’s a no-risk signing in which things could quite literally not get any worse in Green Bay.
  • CHI Quarterback #17
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    Bears HC Ben Johnson told reporters QB Tyson Bagent will practice Saturday.

    With Caleb Williams (hamstring) not expected to play in Week 3’s Monday Night Football showdown against the Eagles, Bagent’s status holds extra weight this week. He missed practice through Friday with a concussion, but has since been cleared to resume practice. He will still need to remain asymptomatic for two consecutive days to fully clear protocol. Bagent would only be a desperation play in super-flex leagues against the Eagles.
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    Lions S Kerby Joseph (knee) is hopeful he’ll be available later this season, reports NFL Insider Tom Pelissero.

    Lions HC Dan Campbell didn’t sound optimistic about the prospects of Joseph, who is dealing with a potentially career-threatening knee cartilage issue, helping the Lions this year. In two separate media appearances in the last week, Campbell said that there wasn’t anything he could say about Joseph that would make anyone “feel good.” Pelissero reported Saturday morning that Joseph, who missed all of training camp and hasn’t played since last year’s Week 6 loss to the Chiefs, is hopeful he’ll be available to help the Lions down the stretch. While that may be the case, whether Joseph is able to return to play this year remains an open question. Without Joseph and S Brian Branch (Achilles), the Lions are severely shorthanded in the backend heading into Week 3’s home matchup against the Jets.
  • NYG General Manager
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    The Giants could trade for a QB in the wake of Jaxson Dart’s injury by Monday, reports NFL Insider Tom Pelissero.

    According to Pelissero, Giants GM Joe Schoen is “working the phones” and a trade could be done as soon as Monday. The Giants gave Dart’s backup Jameis Winston a two-year contract extension just before the start of the regular season. While the Giants are looking to add to their quarterback depth, it seems unlikely that whoever they acquire at this point would be able to unseat Winston as the starter immediately. New York takes on Tennessee in Week 3 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
  • BAL Wide Receiver #4
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    Zay Flowers (hamstring) will likely be on a snap count if active for Week 3 against the Cowboys, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

    Flowers missed Week 2’s loss to the Saints with a hamstring injury after catching five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the Week 1 victory over the Colts. Rashod Bateman stepped up as the Ravens’ leading receiver with Flowers out in Week 2. That would likely be the case again if Flowers is held out. As Fowler reports, Flowers would likely be on a snap count if he’s active against the Cowboys in Week 3, which would seem to muddy things for both his and Bateman’s fantasy prospects against the Cowboys. Baltimore takes on Dallas Sunday afternoon at Maracaná Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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    Lions RT Blake Miller (knee) is not on the injury report for Week 3 against the Jets.

    Lions LG Christian Mahogany (hip) will also make his return after a week-long absence, and RG Tate Ratledge (elbow) is good to go after two limited sessions early in the week. The Lions’ starting offensive line’s health is improving. Backup OG Ben Bartch (foot) has been ruled out.
  • KC Defensive Tackle #95
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    Chiefs DT Chris Jones (calf) is not on the injury report for Week 3 against the Dolphins.

    The Chiefs kept Jones limited in all three practices this week, so this injury isn’t totally behind him yet. Regardless, he should have a productive day against the Dolphins’ offense this week.
  • SF Wide Receiver #5
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    NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said “it seems like” 49ers WR Mike Evans (hip) “has a pretty good chance” to play in Week 3 against the Cardinals.

    Rapoport made the statement, and then immediately referenced 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s comments earlier this week, when he said Evans had a “good” chance to play this week, so it is unclear if Rapoport is actually breaking news. That said, no news is good news. If the NFL Network star had learned something contradictory, we would have heard about it. Evans returned to practice in a limited capacity today. Stay tuned for updates and treat him as a WR2 for the time being.
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    NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (elbow) is unlikely to play in Week 4 against the Colts.

    Frankly, this report comes off as more of a recap than breaking news. The Commanders do not yet know when Daniels will return, though they are optimistic that he will miss fewer than four games. According to Rapoport, the goal is to get him back “as soon as possible” and “as safe as possible.” Backup QB
    Marcus Mariota

    will start in his stead.
  • MIN Running Back #31
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    Vikings RB DeeJay Dallas (toe) was removed from the injury report and will play in Week 3 against the Buccaneers.

    Dallas and starting RB Aaron Jones (knee) both practiced in full on Friday. Jones will handle the majority of the backfield’s touches while Dallas takes a few carries and plays some on passing downs.