Falcons' Cooper Rush: Inactive, available as emergency QB
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive for Thursday's game versus Green Bay.
Rush started for Atlanta in the team's first two games of the 2026 campaign. However, the signal-caller struggled overall, throwing for 229 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions while completing just 56.4 percent of his attempts. With Michael Penix (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) back in the equation, Rush will be inactive against the Packers, though he will be available in an emergency situation.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Benched after rough showing
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Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing twice for 20 yards before being benched in the third quarter of the Falcons' 34-3 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.
Rush's afternoon was about as difficult as his numbers suggest, and after he tossed his second interception of the day with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, the veteran quarterback's day was done. Rookie replacement Jack Strand wasn't any better and tossed a pick-six during his time in the game, but if either Michael Penix (knee) or Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) is able to suit up for Thursday's Week 3 road matchup against the Packers, Rush may not necessarily be a shoo-in for No. 2 quarterback duties over his first-year teammate.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Announced as Week 2 starter
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Coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday that Rush will start Sunday's contest against the Panthers, Daniel Flick of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
At the same time, Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) was deemed doubtful to play, and Michael Penix (knee) was ruled out for Week 2 action, per Will McFadden of the Falcons' official site. Rush got the Week 1 nod under center with both Tagovailoa and Penix sidelined, but he didn't fare too well through the air, completing 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while getting sacked four times.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Expected to start Week 2
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Rush is expected to start Week 2 against Carolina after taking the Falcons' first-team reps Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Tua Tagovailoa (back) hasn't practiced this week, and Michael Penix (knee) apparently isn't ready to play. Rush completed just 12 of 22 pass attempts in Sunday's 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh despite sending 10 of those passes to RB Bijan Robinson, who accounted for 65.8 percent of the team's yards from scrimmage.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Splits reps with Penix on Wednesday
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Rush split first-team reps with Michael Penix (knee) at Wednesday's practice, Daniel Flick of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Rush struggled his way to 143 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions in last Sunday's loss to the Steelers, completing just 12 of 22 passes in the process. Physically, he said he feels good after dealing with a minor back issue last week. "I think it's been a lot better since Sunday," Rush said. Penix practiced fully Wednesday and could draw the Week 2 nod against Carolina.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Scuffles in Week 1 spot start
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Rush completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the Falcons' 20-13 loss to the Steelers on Sunday.
Rush drew the start with Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix (knee) sidelined, and the journeyman signal-caller battled through his own back spasms to take the field. Rush predictably struggled, taking four sacks and barely completing over 50.0 percent of his passes against an aggressive Steelers defense. Rush's early fourth-quarter interception also resulted in a 35-yard pick-six that extended Pittsburgh's lead to 20-10 at the time. Rush primarily relied on Bijan Robinson -- who was on the receiving end of the quarterback's one touchdown pass from 23 yards out -- but the lackluster performance underscored the signal-caller's limitations. Rush may be reverting back to a reserve role for a Week 2 home matchup against the Panthers next Sunday, as one of either Tagovailoa or Penix might be ready for that contest.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Active for Week 1
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Rush (back) is listed as active against the Steelers on Sunday, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Rush was reportedly dealing with back spasms Saturday, but the injury will not prevent the veteran quarterback from starting in Sunday's regular-season opener. With both Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix (knee) ruled out, Rush will be the Falcons' starter while undrafted rookie Jack Strand serves as the backup.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Back feeling better ahead of Week 1 start
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Rush reported improvement after experiencing back spasms Saturday and remains on track to start the Falcons' season opener Sunday versus the Steelers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
The Falcons didn't express much concern that the back issue would prevent Rush from playing Week 1, as he was never added to the injury report. Assuming Rush avoids any setbacks leading up to the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, he'll direct the Atlanta offense with Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix (knee) having been ruled out for Week 1.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Will start Sunday
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Rush will start Sunday's game at Pittsburgh after Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) was ruled out for Week 1 action, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports.
Tagovailoa suffered an oblique strain during Thursday's practice and now will join Michael Penix (knee) on the sideline this weekend. Rush handled the first-team reps in the final two sessions of Week 1 prep and thus will be under center Sunday, with Jack Strand backing him up. Because coach Kevin Stefanski told Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com on Friday that Tagovailoa is "week-to-week," Rush could be in consideration for multiple starts to kick off the 2026 campaign.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Most pass attempts in finale
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Rush completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 106 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason finale against the Dolphins.
One of Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix (knee) is set to start Week 1 against the Steelers, but Rush has put consistent tape together as the No. 3 quarterback. Penix is supposedly set to start the regular season, but the quarterback has yet to progress his game availability as the preseason comes to a close. Tagovailoa was accurate in his short stint but fumbled the football early on in the contest, meaning that if Penix is not ready for Week 1 and Tagovailoa fails, Rush could see a fair amount of pass attempts in the early weeks of the regular season.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: In line to play Friday
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Coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that Rush will rotate into Friday's preseason game versus the Broncos, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Per Stefanski, Tua Tagovailoa (back) is getting the nod to start in Atlanta's preseason opener, and Rush will be the team's next man up at quarterback. The Falcons have yet to name their starting signal caller for Week 1 of the regular season, as 2024 first-rounder Michael Penix continues to recover from the ACL tear he suffered in Week 11 of the 2025 campaign.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB for Week 18
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Ravens' emergency quarterback for Sunday night's game against the Steelers.
Rush served as the backup to Tyler Huntley in Week 17 against the Packers, but the former will revert to his emergency role after Lamar Jackson was cleared to play Week 18. As such, Rush will not be allowed to play Sunday unless both Jackson and Huntley leave the game due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB again for Week 16
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive and will serve as the Ravens' emergency third quarterback Sunday against the Patriots.
Rush maintains his role as the emergency quarterback with Lamar Jackson starting and Tyler Huntley being the primary backup. The 32-year-old will be prohibited from playing Sunday unless both quarterbacks ahead of him are required to leave the game.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB for Thanksgiving Day
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive for Thursday's game against the Bengals but will serve as the Ravens' emergency third quarterback.
Rush will once again serve as the Ravens' emergency QB3 behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. That means Rush is restricted from playing Thursday unless both Jackson and Huntley were to be removed from the game due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB again
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets.
This will be the fourth week in a row that Rush has served in the emergency role, which means he can't enter the game unless Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley exit due to injury, illness or ejection. Rush started two games earlier in the season with Jackson out due to injury, but he only led the offense to 13 points across both contests, leading to Huntley making the start in the last game that Jackson missed.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB for TNF
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Rush (coach's decision) is inactive for Thursday's game against the Dolphins but will serve as the Ravens' emergency third quarterback.
Rush was the Ravens' starting QB for Weeks 5 and 6 but was demoted to backup duties behind Tyler Huntley for Week 8 against the Bears. With Lamar Jackson cleared to return from a three-game absence Thursday, Huntley will operate as the backup while Rush serves as the emergency third quarterback. As such, Rush will be permitted to see the field Thursday only if Jackson and Huntley were both removed due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Out of Week 8 QB picture
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Coach John Harbaugh said Friday that Tyler Huntley, rather than Rush, would start Sunday's game against the Bears if Lamar Jackson (hamstring) doesn't play.
Jackson's listed as questionable but is trending toward returning after practicing without limitations Friday. Rush started Weeks 5 and 6 while Jackson was sidelined, but the Ravens scored only 13 points in those two games combined. Huntley's more mobile than Rush and could run an offense more comparable stylistically to the one Baltimore runs with Jackson.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Benched in loss to Rams
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Rush completed 11 of 19 passes for 72 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Rams. He also had one rush for zero yards while losing a fumble.
Rush drew his second straight start in the absence of Lamar Jackson (hamstring). He ran a decent first possession that resulted in a field goal, completing both of his passes for 12 yards while also scrambling for seven. However, he was intercepted on Baltimore's following drive and the team had several additional miscues before Rush was finally pulled after losing a fumble deep in Rams territory late in the third quarter. Jackson is expected back in Week 8 following Baltimore's bye, and Rush could be in danger of being demoted to the third-string quarterback.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Picked off three times
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Rush completed 14 of 20 passes for 179 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 44-10 loss to the Texans.
Rush led the Ravens on a decent first drive that resulted in a field goal, completing all five of his pass attempts for 59 yards. Things imploded from there, however, as the Ravens turned in consecutive three-and-outs to end the first half before Rush threw three picks in the final two quarters. The one positive is that Rush was able to complete a long pass to Zay Flowers, salvaging the star receiver's fantasy day. Rush could be lined up for a Week 6 start against the Rams, pending Lamar Jackson's (hamstring) recovery.
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Ravens' Cooper Rush: Looks poised for Week 5 start
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Rush appears likely to start Sunday's game against the Texans with Lamar Jackson (hamstring) expected to be sidelined, Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun reports.
The Ravens haven't provided official word on Jackson's status for Week 5 after he exited midway through the third quarter of Sunday's 37-20 loss to Kansas City with a hamstring issue, but a source familiar with the quarterback's injury said that he could be out 2-3 weeks. Jackson plans to try and play this coming Sunday, but in the likely event that he can't, Rush would step in to make his 15th career NFL start and his first with Baltimore. While coming on in relief of Jackson in Week 4, the former Cowboy completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 52 yards. Rush has proven to be a competent game manager in the past, but since he lacks rushing ability and has averaged a middling 6.3 yards per pass attempt for his career, he doesn't profile as an especially enticing fantasy option.
