Atlanta Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley is motivated after having his fifth-year option declined and is determined to prove his worth this season as a former 26th overall draft selection.
The Falcons, who selected McKinley in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft, decided in April not to pick up the fifth-year option worth just over $10 million. In a statement, the team said it was taking a "wait-and-see approach'' in terms of any future contract with McKinley, who managed just 3.5 sacks last season and has 16.5 sacks in 45 career games.
"You can only control what you can control,'' McKinley said Saturday. "I can't talk to TD [general manager Thomas Dimitroff] and beg him, 'Hey man, accept my fifth-year option.' I can't do that. That's up to them. ... Whatever I showed in the [three] years, they decided to decline my option, which is cool. I still got another year here, still got another year to prove myself.''
Pressed on whether having his option declined is extra motivation, McKinley said, "It was a wake-up call. It was more motivation. It made me hungry, you feel me? Not saying I wasn't hungry in the past. Just got to go prove it.''
McKinley has had issues with both shoulders and is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery. He dropped a significant amount of weight and is now at 248 pounds, down from close to 270 last season. The UCLA product spent the entire offseason in California with Laura Scott of ProSport Physical Therapy & Performance.
"Pretty much went at it Monday through Saturdays,'' McKinley said. "Pretty much all day to lose weight and get in the best shape of my life.''
Falcons coach Dan Quinn immediately noticed the difference in McKinley.
"From a rehab standpoint, he really looks rock solid,'' Quinn said. "He's dropped weight. He's strong. But I think the speed part, that was one of the things he and I discussed during the offseason. So he's lighter than he has been totally by design to make sure one of the very best parts of his game is his speed and his get-off.
"As far as the strength [of his shoulder], he really stayed disciplined to the plan as the rehab portion goes. So he's off to a good start with it. The first day of contact he wanted to see it and trust it.''
McKinley has the one year and $1,858,200 remaining on his contract before becoming a free agent. Whether he returns to the Falcons depends on how he performs in 2020. The Falcons have enhanced their pass rush with the addition of veteran Dante Fowler Jr. and rookie Marlon Davidson while cutting ties with former first-rounder Vic Beasley Jr., now with the Tennessee Titans. Pro Bowler Grady Jarrett leads the defensive line, while McKinley said Fowler already has helped tutor him on aspects such as countermoves.
McKinley tried to give some context to his performance the past three seasons.
"Obviously I wish my first three seasons could be 10-plus sacks, but that doesn't happen that way,'' he said. "Life is a roller coaster. I don't think nobody's life has always been just up. It always comes up and down. It's been very inconsistent for me, my NFL career. But that don't mean I'm about to give up. I still believe in myself. My coaches believe in me. My teammates believe in me. And my family believes in me. And I believe in myself.
"At the end of the day, I know what I can do. For me, the biggest thing is just finishing. I left a lot of sacks out there last year. This year, not trying to do the same thing.''
There have been questions about McKinley's maturity and tendency to lash out at others, particularly via social media. There also was an unexplained incident where McKinley reportedly was detained and given a mental evaluation in Los Angeles two years ago, an incident Quinn said the team took seriously because of its sensitively and possible relation to his mental health.
McKinley was asked about his maturity level.
"I'm still me, I'm not going to lie to you,'' he said. "At the end of the day, I am who I am. I'm not out at the clubs partying. I'm not in the strip clubs. I'm not doing dumb stuff. I come to work every day. I train. I work, go home, watch film, play Call of Duty, play [NBA] 2K. Wake up and do it again.
"I'm not out here doing stupid stuff.''