FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said Wednesday the decision to open the season with four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster was “a little bit of an insurance policy.”
The injury histories and performances of the top two quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, made that necessary for the Falcons, who open the season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 13.
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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Jack Strand (18) throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) jogs off the field after an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa speaks at a news conference after an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. (9) Jack Strand (18) and Tua Tagovailoa (1) run drills during an NFL football training camp practice Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The Falcons haven’t announced a starting quarterback and also have Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand on their 53-man roster at the position. When Tagovailoa was slowed at the start of training camp by lower back tightness, the Falcons signed Rush and Strand had an unexpected opportunity to work with the first-team offense.
“What it did show, it wasn’t too big for him, you know, to come in and do what he did early on,” Cunningham said of Strand before adding the rookie from Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead “showed the ability to just progress and get better ever since.”
Penix did not play in a preseason game as he continued his recovery from a left knee injury which ended his 2025 season. He was cleared to join team drills for the first time last week but was held out of the Falcons' final preseason game at Miami on Friday night.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of concussions, led a touchdown drive but lost a fumbled snap in Atlanta's 17-12 win over the Dolphins. It was Tagovailoa's second fumbled snap in three preseason games — one from the shotgun and one under center.
The turnovers by Tagovailoa may have played a role in Falcons first-year coach Kevin Stefanski waiting to select a regular-season starter. The return to Miami last week provided a reminder that Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games of his sixth season with the Dolphins last season after he set a career high with 15 interceptions.
Cunningham confirmed on Wednesday there has been no decision on a starter.
The Falcons were 3-6 in Penix's nine starts last season as he completed 60.1% of his passes with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. In two seasons, the 2024 first-round draft pick has 12 touchdown passes with six interceptions.
If Penix starts at Pittsburgh, plays well and shows he is fully recovered from his injury, the Falcons could adjust their 53-man roster and proceed with three quarterbacks.
The decision to carry four quarterbacks left the team with only Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson at running back. Tyler Goodson is on the 16-player practice squad as the third running back.
“I feel like that’s a little bit of the roster gymnastics, right?” Cunningham said. “It’s four quarterbacks and two running backs. You have to sacrifice at some position. ... And it will probably change throughout the season. Just because we start with this 53 now, it may not be the same 53 that it is, you know, Week 18."
One of the Falcons' most surprising roster cuts, defensive lineman Zach Harrison, was re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday. The Falcons also signed defensive end Khalid Kareem and defensive back Jammie Robinson to the practice squad and released defensive back Cobee Bryant and defensive end Cam Sample.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Jack Strand (18) throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) jogs off the field after an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa speaks at a news conference after an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. (9) Jack Strand (18) and Tua Tagovailoa (1) run drills during an NFL football training camp practice Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka came to the U.S. Open struggling and in danger of losing the No. 1 ranking.
She heads to the third round looking every bit ready for a three-peat.
The top-seeded Sabalenka overwhelmed Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Wednesday night, putting on a power-hitting display that made it seem her recent problems are in the past.
“Happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match,” Sabalenka said.
A number of players have only finished one match.
Another rainy afternoon in New York suspended play for a time on outside courts, allowing action only under the roofs in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium to continue uninterrupted. So the players scheduled there avoided the starts and stops that others faced.
Jessica Pegula was one, needing only 56 minutes to defeat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, beat Venus Williams in her first match.
“To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn’t always happen,” Pegula said. “So I think I’m just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round.”
No. 8 seed Ben Shelton followed Pegula on Ashe and beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5, while No. 7 Daniil Medvedev raced past Sebastian Gorzny — except for a brief delay to protest the chair umpire’s decision to replay a point when two birds sat on the net — 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz followed Sabalenka on Ashe.
Sabalenka is trying to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14, but arrived after losing in the fourth round of her past three tournaments. She needs help to stay atop the WTA rankings even if she wins the title.
She won 15 of 16 points on first serve in the first set and only dropped off a little in the second, finishing 21 for 28 in the match, against an opponent who is playing in her first Grand Slam tournament.
“I think I struggled a little bit in the middle of the season. Once again, I’m not going to defend myself or explain why, what happened, but I’m happy with my level,” Sabalenka said. “I can definitely say that mentally I’m way stronger than I was in the middle of the season, and physically I also feel stronger. So I feel like I’m on my level of play.”
When the U.S. Open switched to a Sunday start last year, it spread out the first round over the first three days, so Wednesday would have arrived with everyone playing in the second round had the weather cooperated.
It hadn't.
Alex de Minaur, the No. 6 seed from Australia, said with all the juggling his match was moved twice from the court where he was originally scheduled. He finally started his U.S. Open on Wednesday on Court 11 and beat Italy's Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
“It’s been a couple tough days. But I mean, these tournaments, it's all about adapting and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said. “There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you.”
Paula Badosa said she didn't even know how to prepare for the resumption of her match against Daria Kasatkina, which was halted Tuesday with her one game from winning to set up a second-round match against No. 4 Coco Gauff.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play just two points or six, or I don’t know how much, how many I play or one more set,” the Spaniard said Wednesday after finishing off her 6-1, 6-4 victory.
“So I knew that if I was winning this match, I’m playing the next day. So, yeah, it was everything a bit different. I was very nervous that I even couldn’t eat, so a lot of different stuff I did today, but sometimes it is how it is, and I tried to play with the things I had there.”
At least she got through. No. 12 Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old from Spain who came in after a strong summer, was routed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by Bu Yunchaokete of China when his first-round match was finally completed.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I was waiting a lot yesterday and today as well, but it is what it is,” Jodar said. “We cannot control the rain, so it’s difficult for both players.”
The first round was finally completed late Wednesday, a day when 25 men’s singles matches were scheduled to get the tournament back on track.
Alex Michelsen pulled off an upset in one of them by ousting fellow American Brandon Nakashima, the No. 16 seed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. No. 11 Frances Tiafoe beat Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto in straight sets, and Argentina's Mariano Navone backed up his upset of Novak Djokovic by beating Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
No. 7 Karolina Muchova, the Wimbledon runner-up, beat Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-0 to reach the third round, while No. 11 Marta Kostyuk got past 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5. No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez set up a matchup of past U.S. Open runners-up against Pegula, with the winner to meet either No. 16 Sorana Cirstea or No. 19 Jasmine Paolini.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves to Polina Iatcenko, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves to Polina Iatcenko, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Jessica Pegula, of the United States, greets Sofia Kenin, of the United States, left, after Pegula won their match during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, returns the ball to Sebastian Gorzny, of the United States, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Spectators are reflected in a puddle at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Hubert Hurkacz, of Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jessica Pegula, of the United States, gestures after she won against Sofia Kenin, of the United States, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
