The Atlanta Falcons have fined defensive end Takk McKinley after McKinley publicly expressed his frustration with the team on Twitter.
McKinley, a former UCLA product, took to Twitter on Wednesday to criticize the teams handling his request for trade before the Nov. 3rd deadline.
McKinley also addressed a separate report that contradicts McKinley’s claim. According to Jason Butt of AJC.com, the team never engaged in talks regarding McKinley for a second-round pick. He shot back, saying to “call Thomas Dimitroff.” Dimitroff was the Atlanta Falcons former general manager. He was fired along with former head coach Dan Quinn after the Falcons 0-5 to the season.
While the Falcons have underperformed up until this point in the season, the defensive line and the run defense have been one of the bright spots. According to Football Outsiders, the Falcons defense ranks second in the “Stuffed” rank. The stuffed stat denotes when the defensive line tackles the ball carrier at or behind the scrimmage line. The defensive line of McKinley, star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and former Los Angeles Ram Dante Fowler Jr. has been very effective for Atlanta this season.
McKinley and The Falcons Struggle
In 2017, the Falcons drafted McKinley. Since then, he has appeared in 49 games. He has amassed 17.5 sacks, 53 quarterback hits, and 22 tackles for loss over that four year period. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 after Atlanta declined his 5th-year option.
The Falcons are struggling this season and have had trade rumors regarding their star players. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones have been the subject of many trade speculations. Nonetheless, the Falcons struggles cannot be attributed to either the offense or defense. It is a collective team blunder that needs to be fixed within the team.
The Falcons will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Hopefully, positive news can come from the team.
