Tua Tagovailoa hurt in practice, Cooper Rush leads Falcons’ offense Thursday

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury during an individual throwing portion early in Thursday’s practice, and the team officially listed him as limited for the session.

Veteran backup Cooper Rush took all of the first-team snaps at quarterback.

In warmups, Tagovailoa threw a pass to an assistant coach and, immediately upon the ball leaving his left hand, he showed signs of discomfort. He reached toward the right side of his back and hunched over, walked a few steps, slowly dropped to a knee and then briefly took a seat on the grass.

A few seconds later, Tagovailoa stood up and walked several steps forward, then put his hands on his knees and hunched over once more. He didn’t throw again in warmups after his injury.

Tagovailoa didn’t participate in team periods during the Falcons’ first four practices of training camp, spanning July 29 through Aug. 1, because of what he described as a flared-up back injury. He said he’d never experienced it before, and his slow acclimation back to full practice participation was done largely for “longevity,” he said.

But in an instant Thursday, three days before he was slated to start in the Falcons’ season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tagovailoa’s injury trouble returned.

“Not sure what happened (to Tagovailoa),” Rush said after practice. “But it’s Thursday. Practice has to go on, so you’re out there. It was a good day. It was good to be out there and get some real reps with that group and go see what happens.”

Rush, who the Falcons signed July 29, took first-team snaps in a two-minute drill early in training camp. Aside from that, he hasn’t thrown to the Falcons’ starting receivers or worked with their first-team offensive line.

Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom, a team captain, said Rush’s communication was “dialed” Thursday.