The Atlanta Falcons have cut former first-round draft pick Takk McKinley after calling out the team on Twitter right before the trade deadline. The team didn’t trade the defensive lineman after expressing his desire to be traded, which led to him expressing his frustrations on social media. In the tweet, McKinley said the Falcons turned down a second-round pick last year when he requested to be traded in 2019. He then went on to say the team turned down a fifth- and sixth-round pick this year from multiple teams.
When McKinley made the comments, the team reportedly fined the 25-year-old and he was inactive for this past Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. “The wrong way to go about it is definitely the way that Takk is handling it now and to pout,” Interim head coach Raheem Morris said to reporters last week. “As soon as we get an opportunity to talk to him about those things and how he’s handling that situation, that will be the first and foremost thing you handle first. And then you figure out, let’s get him healthy as far as his groin. And then you figure out if he’s even able to be on the team, if that’s even possible at this point.”
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These @AtlantaFalcons turned down a 2nd round draft pick when I requested to get traded last year.
The same @AtlantaFalcons turned down a 5th and 6th round draft pick from multiple teams when I requested to get traded this year. I only have 17.5 career sacks.
🤡🤡🤡
— Takkarist McKinley (@Takk) November 4, 2020
McKinley got off to a strong start to the 2020 season. In the team’s first two games, McKinley recorded seven tackles, one sack and one pass defended. However, injuries started to hamper the UCLA alum, and he has not been able to get back on track. The Falcons drafted McKinley in the first round in 2017 in hopes they found a superstar pass rusher who could help them get back to the Super Bowl. In 49 games, McKinley has recorded 17.5 sacks. His best season was in 2018 when he posted a career-high seven sacks and seven tackles for loss.
McKinley getting cut is one of the many issues the Falcons have health with this summer. After an 0-5 start to the season, the team fired head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff. Currently, the Falcons have started to turn things around, winning two of their last three games. However, with seven games left this season, it will be an uphill battle for the team to make the playoffs as they have a 3-6 record.
