Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spoke about the back issue that has limited him in practice this week for the first time on Friday.
Tagovailoa said at a press conference that he started feeling “just some tightness” in his back sometime last week and that led to the decision for him to sit out Wednesday’s opening practice of training camp. Tagovailoa has done limited practice work the last couple of days and said that the current plan is to continue taking things slow because of where they are in the calendar.
“I think just right now, it’s just a precaution thing early on in camp and then we’ll work through that,” Tagovailoa said. “I feel great right now. Like I said, it feels good to be out there with the guys, be able to throw, continue to hear the plays, get in the huddle with the guys. All of that.”
Tagovailoa said this is the first time he’s experienced the back issue and that he’s done a lot of work in a pool with the training staff to relieve the tension he’s been under.
As of now, there’s no timetable for when Tagovailoa will move up to a full practice workload but there wasn’t much sign of concern from him or head coach Kevin Stefanski about how long it will be until that time arrives.
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Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was able to do some practice work on Thursday after missing the start of camp with back tightness and head coach Kevin Stefanski gave an update on how he’s feeling on Friday morning.
Stefanski said that Tagovailoa has not progressed to the point where he’s able to handle a full workload, but that he’s better than he was earlier in the week and expects to see the quarterback take those steps in the near future.
“I don’t know that he’s full yet,” Stefanski said at a press conference. “Got in there in a few of the slower jog-through periods. He’s getting better every single day. I think he’ll remain on that trajectory, so really confident that he’ll be out there soon.”
Michael Penix is not doing full-team work either as he continues to work his way back from last season’s torn ACL. The dual injuries have put a damper on the team’s quarterback competition, but it doesn’t sound like Tagovailoa is far off from making his case for the job in all phases of practice.
Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been absent from the start of training camp for personal reasons. The team announced Thursday night that Ulbrich’s wife, Cristina, has died.
“The Atlanta Falcons are heartbroken by the passing of Cristina Ulbrich, beloved wife of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, after her courageous battle with cancer,” the Falcons said in a statement. “Cristina was a devoted wife, mother, and friend whose strength, grace, and resilience touched all who knew her. She was a constant source of love and support to Jeff, their family, and the broader Falcons community.
“On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Jeff, their children, and all who loved Cristina.
“During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Ulbrich family. We ask that their privacy be respected as they grieve this profound loss, and we stand with them in support and remembrance of Cristina’s life.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Ulbrich family and the Falcons organization.
In 2024, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in free agency and then drafted Michael Penix in the first round. They moved on from Cousins and signed veteran Tua Tagovailoa this offseason.
Yet, it’s Jack Strand currently running their offense.
The undrafted rookie got a phone call from Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt the night before the first training camp practice. Van Pelt informed Strand that Tagovailoa would miss some time with a back injury and Penix was not cleared for team work, leaving Strand as the only quarterback on the roster.
“I didn’t think about it too much,” Strand said after Thursday’s practice, via Will McFadden of the team website. “I’m coming into training camp and everything just trying to take it day by day. Keep attacking every day. Keep getting better every day, whether I’m getting a bunch of reps or I’m not getting as many reps. Whatever reps that I do get, whether it’s in Indy, whether it’s in RVA, whether it’s in team, anything, I’m just going to try to attack those reps and try to keep getting with those, and then also from watching the guys around me.”
The Falcons have since signed veteran Cooper Rush, and Tagovailoa did some light throwing during the individual periods on Thursday. So, Strand might not have much longer with the first-team.
But the former Minnesota State-Moorhead is focused on getting better every day, no matter where he is on the depth chart or in the rotation.
“That’s something that I’ve been telling myself a ton: Be where your feet are. Enjoy the moment,” Strand said. “Don’t look in the past. Don’t dwell on any mistakes or any success that you might have had. Don’t look to the future and wonder what’s going to be happening in two weeks, in three weeks, in a couple of months or anything. Just be where your feet are.”
Linebacker Josh Woods is back for another run with the Falcons.
The team announced Woods’s signing on Thursday. Defensive lineman Ross Blacklock was released in a corresponding move.
Woods spent the last two seasons in Atlanta. He saw almost all of his playing time on special teams and recorded 15 tackles in 17 appearances.
Woods has also played for the Bears, Lions, and Cardinals since entering the league in 2019. He has 137 tackles, four tackles for loss, a half-sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over his entire career.
Blacklock signed with the Falcons after he tried out at their rookie minicamp. He appeared in 44 games for the Texans, Vikings, Jaguars and Titans, but last appeared in a regular season game in 2023.
Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed the first practice of training camp with back tightness, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said that he didn’t expect it to be a lengthy absence and his prediction was proven correct on Thursday.
Multiple reporters at the Falcons’ second practice of camp shared pictures and video of Tagovailoa on the field with a helmet on. The videos show Tagovailoa throwing passes and doing some other individual drills.
Tagovailoa did join quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Jack Strand for other positional work, but he should ramp up his workload in the coming days as long as the back issue does not flare up again.
Michael Penix is also out of team drills at the moment and he said on Wednesday that it remains unclear when he will get the green light to take that step in his recovery from last season’s torn ACL.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs did not practice on Wednesday, as he stages an apparent hold-in while awaiting a new contract.
Head coach Dan Campbell briefly addressed the situation with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard.
“This will kind of continue,” Campbell told Woodyard. “It’ll come as it comes. I think that’s the best way to say it. This is both sides working through something and we’ll take it as it comes, but that’s where it is.”
While that’s not explicit, direct confirmation of Gibbs holding in, it’s probably about as close as it can get.
The Lions’ situation is compounded by the fact that the Falcons are encountering a similar situation with running back Bijan Robinson. Both players were selected in the first round of the 2023 draft, and both have been selected to multiple Pro Bowls.
But that also means whoever agrees to a new deal first between Gibbs and Robinson will likely make less money than the other.
We’ll see who signs first between the two star running backs.
The big news from the first day of Falcons training camp involved the team’s quarterbacks.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that Tua Tagovailoa is not practicing after suffering a recent injury — Tagovailoa reportedly has back tightness — and that Michael Penix has not been cleared for team drills. There was hope that Penix would be ready for that work at this point in his ACL rehab, but the quarterback said that everyone is taking a cautious approach to the final steps in his recovery.
“To be honest I’ve been feeling really good,” Penix said, via Josh Kendall of TheAthletic.com. “I feel like I can do everything, but I have to still be smart about it. I can’t afford to have somebody trip and fall and land on me right now.”
This is the third time that Penix has torn his ACL and he said he’s been cleared earlier in the process in the previous cases, but that the repeated injuries have led to the current approach. He said he was told that it could be “another four weeks possibly” before he moves to the next stage and that timeline will likely need to speed up if Penix is going to have a real chance of opening the season as the starter in Atlanta.
The Falcons are in a similar position to the Lions as the teams begin training camp this week.
Per multiple reporters on the scene, running back Bijan Robinson is not participating in practice on Wednesday. Video from Alison Mastrangelo of WSB-TV shows Robinson on the field without a helmet and not performing drills.
While head coach Kevin Stefanski did not address the situation in his press conference before the start of practice, this is likely due to Robinson seeking a new contract.
Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick of the 2023 draft, was a first-team All-Pro in 2025 after leading the league with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 1,478 yards with seven touchdowns and caught 79 passes for 820 yards with four TDs to earn his second Pro Bowl berth.
Robinson is under contract through 2027 after the Falcons exercised his fifth-year option. But his performance over the last three seasons has put him in a position for a contract extension.
With Robinson and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs — the No. 12 pick of the 2023 draft — both apparently holding in, the question becomes, who signs first? The first to sign will likely raise the floor for the other’s deal. But the second ostensibly will make more money.
The Falcons signed offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor this offseason, but he won’t be on the field for their first practice of training camp.
Taylor was one of four players placed on the physically unable to perform list on Wednesday. Taylor was pencilled into the right tackle spot, but the team will turn to another former Chief in Wanya Morris for the time being.
Defensive back Billy Bowman, linebacker DeAngelo Malone, and linebacker Troy Andersen are also on the PUP list. Defensive linemen Zach Harrison and Anterio Thompson are opening camp on the non-football injury list.
All of the players count against the 90-man roster limit and they can be activated at any point during training camp.
As previously noted, the Falcons also released quarterback Trevor Siemian with a non-football injury designation. They are expected to sign Cooper Rush to fill out the quarterback group that is managing injury situations with Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix.
