Tua Tagovailoa ruled out of Falcons opener against Steelers due to oblique injury

The Steelers won’t face the quarterback they anticipated in Sunday’s 2026 NFL season opener against the Falcons.

Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out with an oblique injury, which means third-string quarterback Cooper Rush will get the start.

On the Steelers side of things, we’ll be keeping a very close eye on the status of Joey Porter Jr. as his contract negotiations progress, and as he continues to recover from the back injury that’s kept him limited in practice.

Porter Jr. disputed reports Friday that he wants to be the highest-paid cornerback, telling us after practice, “I don’t really know where that came from.”

The cornerback was asked point blank if he’s optimistic a deal will get done before Sunday.

“Nah, not really. ... Clock’s ticking, so it is what it is at this point. We can be prepared, regardless of the situation, and we’re gonna play ball.”

And as we’ve been reporting, as this saga has continued, the Steelers will not negotiate once the season begins.

General manager Omar Khan confirmed that will continue this year. So, if a deal is going to happen, it will have to be before Sunday at 1 p.m.

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