Falcons expect Tua Tagovailoa fully healthy ‘soon’ amid back tightness

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had his busiest training camp practice to date Friday, throwing passes during warmups and one-on-ones while leading the offense through an 11-on-11 walk-through.

Tagovailoa, who’s been limited through the team’s first three training camp practices because of back tightness after it flared up last week, told reporters after practice that his health continues to improve.

“Right now, it’s just a precaution thing early on in camp and then work through that,” Tagovailoa said. “But I feel great right now. 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.”

The 28-year-old Tagovailoa said he’s spent extensive time in the pool doing waterworks with the Falcons’ medical staff to help alleviate stress. It’s a first-time injury, not recurring, and he’s unsure when he’ll be entirely healed.

“I don’t personally have, like, a timetable,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s a conversation to have with the head coach and with our training staff.”

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t set an exact date for Tagovailoa’s return to full participation — the team practices Saturday, will be off Sunday, then return Monday through Wednesday — but it’s expected to happen in the near future.

“He’s getting better every single day,” Stefanski said. “So, I think he’ll remain on that trajectory. So, I’m really confident he’ll be out there soon.”

With Tagovailoa limited and Michael Penix Jr. still restricted from 11-on-11 periods while recovering from a torn ACL, undrafted rookie Jack Strand and veteran free agent signee Cooper Rush have led the Falcons’ offense during team periods.