Takk McKinley, the Atlanta Falcons' 2017 first round pick, only has 17.5 career sacks. That's not what the team was looking for when they drafted the talented UCLA product, and his current value almost certainly doesn't represent that of a first round draft pick. As expected, then, the Falcons didn't receive any offers that featured a first rounder in return for McKinley in 2020, nor any offers involving a second round pick, or a third round pick.
It was apparently a fourth round pick that they sought (via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). But after the trade deadline, McKinley is still with Atlanta.
And, as many Falcons fans will tell you, the organization may have missed a major opportunity when they turned down trades for McKinley, be it in 2020 or in past seasons. In fact, one current Falcon said exactly that on Wednesday morning: McKinley himself.
I'm all for self deprecation — it's my primary source of humor — but that's certainly no way to attempt to endear yourself to a fan base after the trade deadline has come and gone. It's also a pretty bad look as you attempt to define your career as a football player, in my opinion. The ol' "I'm not that good" approach doesn't have a great success rate in turning careers around.
McKinley tweeted the day before the deadline that he wasn't going to get moved, a claim which ultimately became the truth.
Interim head coach Raheem Morris commented on the tweets afterward, saying that McKinley will "definitely be held accountable for his actions" and that it was immature of him to act this way (via Falcons reporter Kelsey Conway). Morris added that he "won't be able to help the team" in Week 9, when the Falcons host the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
What Morris and the Falcons will ultimately do with McKinley is yet to be confirmed, though Morris hinted at some of the options.
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