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Atlanta Falcons waive former first-round pick Takkarist McKinley

Raiders news: Takkarist McKinley
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

It was this time last week that the Atlanta Falcons were entertaining trade offers for 2017 first-round pick, pass rusher Takkarist McKinley. Apparently, the team should have taken one of those offers.

In what can’t be considered a surprising move, the Falcons have decided to waive McKinley without getting anything in compensation for him.

This comes after some major drama between the Atlanta Falcons and Takkarist McKinley. He was fined earlier this month for comments he made about the organization on social media. McKinley has also missed each of the past two games with a groin injury.

Related: If you’re a fan of the Falcons, check out #RiseUpATL rumors, rankings, and news here

Takkarist McKinley goes down as a major bust for the Atlanta Falcons

Since being selected No. 26 overall back in 2017, McKinley has recorded a grand total of 45 quarterback hits and 17.5 sacks in 49 games (25 starts). Thus far this season, the UCLA product has registered just seven quarterback hits and one sack in four games.

This is the latest example of the Atlanta Falcons’ new front office opting to make changes following the firings of head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

Takkarist McKinley contract and potential suitors

The 27-year-old edge rusher is slated to become a free agent following the 2020 season after Atlanta declined his player option for 2021. He’s earning a base salary of $1.86 million this season, which means there’s a good chance that some team will pick McKinley up off waivers.

Said waiver order goes from worst record to best record in the NFL. This means that the New York Jets will have first crack at McKinley with the Pittsburgh Steelers rounding out the order.

It will certainly be interesting to see if some team opts to take a chance on McKinley after the Atlanta Falcons decided to move on from him. We’ll hear something about this within the next day or so.

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