Getty Takkarist McKinley #98 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts after sacking Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks.
Some potentially good news for the Atlanta Falcons defense, defensive end Takk McKinley returned to practice Friday and was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Takk, dealing with a groin injury, has only five snaps over the past four games.
According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he practiced with the first-team defense alongside Allen Bailey. Ledbetter gave details of what he saw from McKinley back in practice, “He looked mobile on a stunt and then was fluid when he dropped into coverage.”
“I think he’s really close,” Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris told Ledbetter before practice.
McKinley Will Not Head to IR
While it may have seemed as if McKinley was hurt enough to head to the injured reserve list, Morris told Ledbetter that there were no thoughts of doing so.
Before leaving the game with a groin injury, McKinley played 43 snaps in the season opener against Seattle and 14 snaps against Dallas in the second game of the season. He was unable to make an appearance in both the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers losses.
When McKinley tried to play in their fifth loss to the Carolina Panthers, he only made it five snaps into the game.
He also didn’t take part in the Falcons’ first win this season against the Minnesota Vikings last week.
This is an important season for McKinley, who had his $10.3 million fifth-year option declined by the team in the offseason. He started off on the right foot with one sack, seven tackles, one tackle for a loss, and seven quarterback hits, let’s hope he can return to that momentum soon.
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McKinley Must Prove Himself
Over his three years in the league, McKinley has become known as quite a competitor. The former UCLA Bruin standout was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. He had some shoulder issues that continued when he entered the NFL, which is why he hasn’t turned into the pass rusher Atlanta expected.
Prior to this season, McKinley had played in a total of 45 games with 21 starts. He also recorded 16.5 sacks, including a high of 7.0 in 2018. Last season, he attempted to play through his shoulder injury and finished with 3.5 sacks, before having to step off the field and get his third shoulder surgery.
Due to his unimpressive performance, the Falcons declined his fifth-year option but McKinley took it as motivation.
“It was a wake-up call,” McKinley addressed the media in August after Atlanta declined. “It was more motivation, it made me hungry. I’m not saying I wasn’t hungry in the past, but I’ve just got to go prove it.”
Falcons Final Injury Report:
Full Participation
#15 WR Brandon Powell (elbow)
#20 CB Kendall Sheffield (foot)
#32 S Jaylinn Hawkins (concussion)
#83 WR Russell Gage (shoulder)
Limited Participation
#11 WR Julio Jones (hamstring)
#18 WR Calvin Ridley (elbow)
#56 DE Dante Fowler (ankle)
#98 DE Takk McKinley (groin)
Did Not Participate
#21 RB Todd Gurley (not injury related – rest)
#77 G James Carpenter (not injury related – rest)
#94 DT Deadrin Senat (not injury related – rest)