Falcons finally part ways with disgruntled DE Takkarist McKinley

Takkarist McKinley is no longer with the Atlanta Falcons.

The firing of Dan Quinn has made the Atlanta Falcons a respectable team, but that doesn’t mean that everything is all rosy in the great state of Georgia. Pass rusher Takkarist McKinley was so ticked off after he wasn’t moved at the trade deadline that he went on Twitter to show hypothetical trades that the team turned down.

After a few days of contentious salvos being fired at one another, Atlanta finally washed their hands of McKinley, as interim head coach Raheem Morris put him on waivers after the trade market for him was too think to capitalize on.

Takkarist McKinley has started to see his production decline with every passing year

The Falcons were understandably intrigued by McKinley in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, as the former UCLA star offered plenty of speed off the edge. While he started his career off strong in Atlanta by recording 13 sacks in his rookie and sophomore seasons, he has mustered just 4.5 sacks since, as he has never added another dimension to his game other than speed.

The biggest issue with the Falcons’ defense over the last few seasons has been the lack of a quality pass rush, and failing to develop McKinley and Vic Beasley stands out as one of the main reasons why they’ve struggled in that area.

Dante Fowler will be called upon to take greater responsibility on defense, while fellow first-round bust Charles Harris might get a few more snaps without McKinley in town.

This divorce was necessary for all parties involved. Some other team will take a chance on the former first-rounder, while Atlanta rids themselves of a pass rusher who had no interest in being there.