Player Bio
| HT/WT: 6-3, 225 lbs |
| Birthplace: Schererville, IN |
| Age: 32 |
| School: C. Michigan |
| Experience: 9 |
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1:35Steelers Defense Dominates Falcons
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6:01Falcons Rule Out Tua Tagovailoa for Week 1 at Steelers
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1:33Tua Tagovailoa's Status in Question for Opener
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1:39Tua Tagovailoa's Injury Raises Questions
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0:53Tua to Start Preseason Finale, Penix Won't Play
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1:59Falcons QB Battle: Tua vs Penix Jr
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1:01Tua Tagovailoa to Start For Falcons vs. Broncos
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1:04Texans (-1.5) At Ravens, O/U 4.5
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1:05Debating Fernando Mendoza's Starting Timeline
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1:16NFL Week 1 Highlights: Falcons at Steelers
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0:53Amy Trask Breaks Down 10 New NFL Head Coaches
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1:13Falcons vs. Steelers: Stefanski & McCarthy HC Debuts
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1:57C.J. Stroud Looks for Bounce-Back in Contract Year
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13:54Bijan Robinson Joins CBS Sports HQ
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9:33News From the NFL Days Ahead of Week 1
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1:53Bryce Underwood's Job Not Secure After Week 1
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2026 Passing
| STATS |
CMP
Pass Completions
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ATT
Pass Attempts
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PCT
Completion Percentage
|
YDS
Passing Yards
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YDS/G
Passing Yards per Game
|
TD
Touchdown Passes
|
INT
Interceptions Thrown
|
RATE
Passer Rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | 12 | 22 | 54.5 | 143 | 143.0 | 1 | 2 | 51.9 |
Top Cooper Rush News
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Scuffles in Week 1 spot start
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 his 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: Back feeling better ahead of Week 1 start
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: Active for Week 1
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: Will start Week 1, despite back spasms
Rush (back) experienced back spasms Saturday, but he's not included on the Falcons' injury report and will start at quarterback in Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
With Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) and Michael Penix (knee) both out for Week 1, the Falcons are down to their third option at quarterback in Rush, who will play despite being at less than full health. Undrafted rookie Jack Strand will serve as Rush's backup. Over 42 appearances (16 starts) with the Cowboys and Ravens across parts of eight NFL seasons, Rush has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 6.3 yards per attempt and a 20:14 TD:INT.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Will start Sunday
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: Could start Week 1
Rush took all of the first-team reps at Thursday's practice while Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) was unable to participate, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.
Michael Penix (knee) has already been ruled out, so if Tagovailoa is sidelined by the oblique injury he suffered during individual drills Thursday, Rush would be next in line to get tabbed for the Week 1 start Sunday against the Steelers, ahead of undrafted rookie Jack Strand. Tagovailoa officially went down as a limited participant Thursday, per Raimondi. Rush has a career 9-7 record as a regular-season starter, having gone 9-5 with the Cowboys from 2021 through 2024 but 0-2 with the Ravens last season.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Backing up Tagovailoa in Week 1
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that Rush will serve as the top backup to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the Falcons' Week 1 game against the Steelers, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports.
Though the decision on the Falcons' Week 1 starter came down to Michael Penix (knee) and Tagovailoa, Penix will ultimately be inactive for the season opener rather than serving as the No. 2 quarterback. Penix took part in just six 11-on-11 practices during training camp while completing his recovery from the ACL surgery he underwent last November, so the Falcons will wait for him to get more reps in before making him available for his 2026 debut, either as a replacement in the starting lineup for Tagovailoa or as Tagovailoa's top backup. With Penix out of the mix for at least the first game, Atlanta will go with the more seasoned Rush over undrafted rookie Jack Strand as the No. 2 option behind Tagovailoa.
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Falcons' Cooper Rush: Most pass attempts in finale
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
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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