The Falcons aren’t trading Takkarist McKinley…according to Takkarist McKinley. The defensive end took to Twitter this evening and said he’ll be staying in Atlanta.
“The Atlanta Falcons aren’t trading me,” McKinley tweeted. “They have declined a handful of offers.”
Of course, this could mean nothing, and the Falcons front office may currently be rolling their eyes as they continue to field calls for the defensive end. Alternatively, McKinley could also be passing along information he’s received firsthand from the front office (of course, we’d be wary of even taking that at face value).
If true, this will be a change of course from what we heard a few days ago. Last Wednesday, there were reports that the Falcons had discussed offers for the former first-rounder, and some teams were convinced he’d be dealt prior to tomorrow’s trade deadline.
Instead, it’s sounding like the 25-year-old will stick in Atlanta, at least for the time being. After declining his fifth-year option this past offseason, there’s a good chance the two sides go their separate ways in 2021. After all, McKinley has generally disappointed since being selected with the No. 26 pick in the 2017 draft.
While he combined for 13 sacks through his first two seasons in the league (not including a pair of playoff sacks during his rookie campaign), the defensive end managed only 3.5 sacks in 2019. He’s compiled only eight tackles and one sack in four games this season, and he hasn’t played more than 40-percent of his team’s defensive snaps since Week 1.
Famous last words
He didn’t say anything about Atlanta not releasing him though…
As a defensive end/pass rusher, McKinley is likely to receive a contract offer high enough that the Falcons get up to a third round pick in compensation. Why trade McKinley for a sixth or a seventh now?