Atlanta Falcons: Not picking up Takk McKinley’s fifth-year option is the right move

The Atlanta Falcons are in the process of deciding Takk McKinley’s future fate with the franchise and it appears that they are making the right decision.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said today in Indianapolis that the team has not decided if the team would pick up Takk McKinley’s fifth-year option, which is worth $10.1 million. Dan Quinn then let it out that they were not picking up the option only to backtrack and tell everyone to listen to Dimitroff.

Not picking up McKinley’s fifth-year option is the right move. If Vic Beasley was a bust, Takk has been even worse. Terrible numbers aside, Takk has not lived up to the potential coming out of UCLA and the Falcons know that they can keep him for a lot less than the scheduled fifth-year option.

The initial thought seems to be that the Atlanta Falcons will not Takk back at all and I think that notion could not be further from the truth. McKinley will certainly be back for the fifth year or longer but you will see him earn what the going rate is for a player of his stature. More than likely in the $3 million range.

The Atlanta Falcons learned their lesson in 2019 when they guaranteed nearly $13 million for Vic Beasley believing Dan Quinn was a pass rush whisperer. While Vic had his second-best season as a pro, he still was nowhere near the value that the Falcons paid for him.

There are many that will blame McKinley’s first three seasons on injury bad lack and sure that plays a role in every player’s ability to perform, but it also comes down to Takk being more of a backup type player and not a starter on a team with championship aspirations.

Takk can be a piece to the puzzle but he is not the guy to set the bar of expectation and it’s good that Dimitroff and the Falcons are finally realizing that now instead of committing to more wasted money in the future.