Tua Tagovailoa Gives Injury Update after Day 3 of Falcons Training Camp

The Atlanta Falcons opened the first day of training camp in a less-than-ideal situation. Potential starting quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa were both dealing with injuries that kept what the Falcons were able to do at practice to a minimum.

Penix hasn't been fully cleared for 11v11s involving a pass rush as he recovers forom knee surgery, and Tagovailoa picked up back tightness the week before training camp and wasn't present at all on Day 1.

Penix took a scheduled rest day on the second day, and Tagovailoa was back on the field, but didn't do much more than warm up his arm.

Both quarterbacks were more involved on Friday, as undrafted Jack Strand is still taking the majority of 11v11 reps. Tagovailoa's workload is increasing shortly, and he gave an update after Friday's training camp.

"I feel good," Tagovailoa said. "Feels good to be out there with the guys, be able to get some reps out there a bit. Get some one-on-one reps, still be able to throw it to the guys. So, it's been good."

Tagovailoa admitted his back tightness flared up sometime last week, but it's something he's never dealt with before, so the staff is being cautious.

“I think just right now it's just a precaution thing early on in camp, and then we'll work through that. But 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. We've been doing a lot of waterworks, a lot of things in the pool to be able to help relieve the stress," Tagovailoa said.

As Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers rapidly approaches, Tagovailoa is doing what he can in a quarterback battle with Penix that hasn't really taken off yet.

"You're constantly learning, and I think a cool thing that we do here is night before we go through the installs, then the next morning you have a lot of time to sort of get your body ready. But at the same time, you're able to see who is able to regurgitate what was installed last night into today's practice because we don't meet before. I think that's something really cool. You can see who's studying, who's been in their playbook, who understands where to go, and where they need to be at. All of that,” Tagovailoa said.

It's a new system for the veteran quarterback and the rest of the Falcons, and Tagovailoa is eager to show what the Falcons can do under head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. The weapons available to Tagovailoa are exciting.

“I think the coolest things about the system is the guys," Tagovailoa said. "If you don’t have good guys, any system can be good but it’s just the guys. The camaraderie with the guys upfront, the guys outside, our running back room. And then we’re waiting for [RB] Bijan [Robinson] to get paid.”

Tagovailoa is referencing the hold-in by Robinson that has reached three days. Robinson has two years left on his mandated rookie contract, but he and the team are working on an extension that could make him the highest paid player at his position.

It was an interesting first week at Flowery Branch for sure, and we're still waiting to see a full contingent of players on the field. Hopefully for Stefanski and the Falcons' sake, they won't have to wait too much longer.

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