The 2026 NFL season kicks off in earnest this Sunday with 28 of the 32 pro squads around the league starting their respective campaigns either at home or on the road.
Plenty of former SEC stars will once again be starting around the NFL, and former star Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked to be among them as he was officially named the starter for the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the week.
Unfortunately for both him and Atlanta, though, it looks like Tua will be on the sidelines this Sunday, as ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported on Friday afternoon that the gunslinger has officially been ruled out for the season opener.
Like our coverage? Make SDS a preferred source in your searches!
This comes after Tagovailoa exited practice early on Thursday with what the Falcons later described as an oblique injury. The team initially listed him as day-to-day, but it looks like the injury was more serious than first reported.
A 2020 first-round draft selection by the Miami Dolphins, Tua signed with Atlanta for the league minimum this past offseason after spending 6 up-and-down years in South Florida. His tenure in Miami ended unceremoniously when the team released him just 2 years into a massive contract extension that made him one of the highest-paid signal callers in the league.
He initially beat out Michael Penix Jr. in camp to earn the starting job despite a lackluster showing in preseason action, but he will now be forced to watch from the sidelines as third-stringer Cooper Rush leads Atlanta’s offense against a stout Pittsburgh defense.
