The Atlanta Falcons are finally back on the practice field for day one of training camp on Wednesday morning, but they are not at full strength while they're doing it.

It was already a massive question mark and looked unlikely that Michael Penix Jr. was going to be fully healthy and cleared for participation in team drills to start camp, but it turns out he's not the only injured quarterback on the roster.

According to multiple reports, Tua Tagovailoa has a minor back injury that flared up this week, and while it is not expected to keep him out long, he will miss the first day of practice. As a result, undrafted free agent Jack Strand out of Minnesota State–Moorhead will take the first team reps on the first day of practice.

The team also signed veteran backup Cooper Rush, who is at Wednesday's practice.

Stefanski did tell reporters he expects Tagovailoa to be on the field soon, but did not provide an exact timeline. 

"He will be out there sooner rather than later," Stefanski said via Falcons.com, telling reporters that Tagovailoa has a "tight back."

It was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN that the injury is not seen right now as serious and Tagovailoa should be back next week, but it's safe to say a quarterback battle that has not really started yet just got a whole lot more interesting.

Tagovailoa was seen coming into camp as a guy who had the advantage because of Penix's knee preventing him from 11 on 11 drills, but if he is nursing a bad back, it may erase any sort of edge he had. Penix's timeline for full participation is not yet known, but every day Tagovailoa had on him was going to give him a better chance at winning the starting job.

Now, with Strand getting the head start instead, Tagovailoa and Penix may wind up being a whole lot closer to even if Penix can get cleared sooner rather than later

The team has been fairly quiet on that timeline for their former first round pick, so that may be a lofty goal, however those hoping to see Penix win the job certainly received a boost at those chances every practice that Tagovailoa misses. With a quarterback battle that has yet to begin, fans may be starting to worry about the position.

If one of both guys can get on the field in a full capacity by next week, those fears will be eased, however this is certainly not the way Kevin Stefanski wanted to start his first camp in Atlanta.