Wide receiver Jalen Coker is coming off a big Week 1 performance, but he’s not totally healthy heading into Week 2.
Coker said on Monday that he rolled his ankle during last Sunday’s loss to the Bears. Coker said he does not expect to miss any game action as a result of the injury, but he remained limited in practice on Thursday.
Coker had eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago.
Defensive tackle Bobby Brown (back) was the only player out of practice for Carolina on Thursday. Tight end Darren Waller (rest) returned to full participation and linebacker Pat Jones (back) was limited for the second day in a row.
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There were no changes to the practice plans for the Falcons’ quarterbacks on Thursday, but there were some differences at other positions.
Cornerback A.J. Terrell was a full participant after sitting out on Wednesday because of a shoulder injury. The Falcons also got right guard Chris Lindstrom back on the field. He was a limited participant as he continues to work his way through the concussion protocol.
Quarterbacks Michael Penix (knee) and Cooper Rush (back) were listed as full participants for the second straight day. They split first-team work on Wednesday with Tua Tagovailoa out due to an oblique injury. Tagovailoa remained out of practice.
- Cornerback Billy Bowman (Achilles) and linebacker Kendal Daniels (Achilles) were both limited participants. Defensive end Za’Darius Smith (rest) and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee) did not participate in practice.
The Falcons will issue injury designations for Sunday’s game against the Panthers on Friday.
At this point, it looks like Tua Tagovailoa is out of the running to start Atlanta’s Week 2 matchup against Carolina.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, Tagovailoa was not on the field for practice during the portion of the session open to media on Thursday.
Tagovailoa is dealing with an oblique injury suffered during practice last week. He did not practice on Wednesday.
Additionally, reporters noted that both Michael Penix Jr. and Cooper Rush were throwing to starting receivers during early drills. That suggests Penix and Rush will once again split first-team reps, as Rush revealed the club did on Wednesday.
Rush started the Week 1 loss to the Steelers, finishing 12-of-22 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Atlanta’s full injury report will be released later in the day.
The Browns are adding a player who’s plenty familiar with their (current) backup quarterback.
According to multiple reports, Cleveland is signing receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. to its practice squad.
Horn — a Panthers sixth-round pick in last year’s draft — had a rough Week 1, muffing a punt while trying to make a fair catch. He was waived earlier this week as the team added a linebacker.
Horn could help the Browns as a returner, as Dylan Sampson is expected to miss significant time with a knee injury suffered during the season-opening loss to the Jaguars.
Horn played with Shedeur Sanders at Colorado before both were drafted last year. With Deshaun Watson struggling through Cleveland’s season opener as QB1, Sanders could be elevated to a starting role sooner than later.
The Falcons have not named a quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Panthers and preparing the team’s defense under those circumstances was a topic of conversation for Panthers head coach Dave Canales on Wednesday.
Cooper Rush started for Atlanta last week with Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix inactive, but Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski has not committed to giving him a second start. Tagovailoa did not practice Wednesday and Penix said he still has milestones he wants to reach in his recovery from last season’s torn ACL, but Penix did not rule out getting there by Sunday.
Canales said the team will focus on Stefanski’s own history because there isn’t a major difference in playing styles between the quarterbacks.
“We just have to look at the history of Kevin Stefanski’s offenses and what he values and what he’s trying to get done. . . . The good part is no singular quarterback that they have is kind of a standout in terms of being a runner,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “Where when you have pocket passers, and these are all quarterbacks that I think are good quarterbacks, and, certainly, Tua, we’ve seen Michael Penix play at his best, and Cooper Rush, who’s been around a long time. So these are guys that can really operate. As a former quarterbacks coach, I value what they can do. There isn’t a dynamic of the zone-read type of element, a guy that kind of creates that extra special element. So we can really treat the system and the offense true to the integrity of what Coach Stefanski is trying to get done.”
Whatever choice the Falcons make, the Panthers defense will need to be a lot stronger than they were while being strafed by the Bears in a 59-37 loss in Week 1.
Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush revealed an interesting note about Wednesday’s practice during his press conference following the session.
Rush said he and Michael Penix Jr. split the first-team reps at QB to start the practice week.
“I don’t know exactly the amount. But we were both out there, me and Mike,” Rush said. “It was good work.”
Rush started for the Falcons in their Week 1 loss to the Steelers. Atlanta has not yet publicly determined who will start for the club against Carolina this week.
Penix may be splitting reps, but it’s not clear whether or not he’ll be fully ready to play a game on Sunday.
Rush finished the Week 1 loss 12-of-22 for 143 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He took four sacks.
The Falcons haven’t named a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Panthers and Michael Penix didn’t do much to suggest that he’ll be the choice during his Wednesday press conference.
Penix has been practicing for some time and said that he “felt good out there” during practice earlier in the day, but he was inactive last week and said he’s “still working toward” feeling ready for game action. Penix is recovering from his third torn ACL and said that there are still some physical milestones he wants to reach before declaring himself all the way back.
“I’m close. I know I’ve been saying that, but there are there’s a couple of technical things I want to hit, some goals that I have that I want to achieve before I do step foot out on that field. . . . Dying to be out there, but, at the same time, I gotta think about how I feel and think about things I need to work on and make sure I hit before I go out there,” Penix said.
Penix stressed that the remaining steps are physical rather than mental and “whenever my knee feels good, I’m gonna be out there.” He didn’t rule out the possibility that could be this weekend, but he and the Falcons have taken the long view thus far and it seems hard to believe they’d speed things up at the very end.
Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski did not name a starting quarterback for Week 2’s home game against the Panthers at his Wednesday press conference.
The Falcons started Cooper Rush for their opener after ruling Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix out against the Steelers. Stefanski said that Tagovailoa will not practice on Wednesday due to an oblique injury, but Rush will be on the field despite receiving treatment for his back along with Penix. Penix is returning from last season’s torn ACL and has been cleared for full practice, but said last week that he does not feel all the way back from his injury yet.
“We will have a quarterback for this week,” Stefanski said. “Not yet, but we’ll work through that this week. . . . I’m not ruling anyone out.”
After being asked about undrafted rookie Jack Strand later in the press conference, Stefanski confirmed that he has not been ruled out as a potential choice.
Stefanski declined to say whether Penix is getting the kind of first-team work that would signal he’s got the green light for game action, which suggests the likeliest choice for this week is another start for Rush. The Falcons would then move on to a Thursday night game in Green Bay before an extended break leading into Week 4.
The Bears scored 59 points on Sunday at Carolina. Just one point short of a whopping 60 points.
In a Monday interview of coach Ben Johnson on ESPN 1000, Jeff Joniak said this about the 59-37 win over the Panthers: “At that point I was hoping for 60. I was thinking a two-point try at some point.”
Johnson paused, smiled, and said, “I don’t think you were the only one.”
It’s on brand for Johnson. He wants to score a lot of points. He wants to blow teams out. Whenever, wherever, however.
Having a shot at getting to 60 is rare. For the 2026 Bears, it may not be. And there’s a good chance that, the next time his team is in striking distance of the number, maybe they will try to get there.
The Panthers are adding a veteran linebacker to their 53-man roster ahead of their Week 2 game against the Falcons.
They announced that they have signed Tyrel Dodson. Dodson signed to the practice squad after being released by the Dolphins at the end of camp and waiting to add him to the active roster after Week 1 means the Panthers avoided guaranteeing his salary for the entire season.
Dodson had 129 tackles, five sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 16 starts for Miami last season.
The Panthers waived wide receiver Jimmy Horn in a corresponding move. The 2025 sixth-round pick had 11 catches last season and muffed a punt in Carolina’s Week 1 loss to the Bears.
