Takk McKinley to the Philadelphia Eagles? Probably not

Don’t hold your breath on the Philadelphia Eagles landing recently released DE Takk McKinley.

After quite vocally expressing his distaste with the Atlanta Falcons organization, former first-round pick Takkarist McKinley was released this afternoon. The fourth year edge rusher has just one sack in four games this season, and is coming off a below average 2019 campaign. As it normally goes, the Philadelphia Eagles were quickly named as a potential landing destination for the 25 year old edge rusher.

Right off the bat, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles having a ton of interest in adding someone like McKinley. His talent is undeniable (he was a first-round pick for a reason), but his production the last year and a half has been minimal compared to what the Eagles already have in their DE room.

Brandon Graham is on pace for the best year of his career, Derek Barnett has been solid, Josh Sweat has looked insanely good as a DE3, and Vinny Curry already has one sack and a fumble recovery since returning from injury.

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On top of that, a guy like Joe Ostman has long been an organizational favorite on the practice squad. He had an impressive training camp this past summer, and continues to receive high praise from the coaching staff.

While Howie Roseman is always looking to bolster up the D-Line (he really, and I mean really, likes signing defensive lineman), it’s hard to imagine him feeling like he needs to add another rotational pass rusher to the mix. Taking snaps away from someone like Sweat makes minimal sense, and the team already sacrificed rookie Casey Toohill in order to get Curry back, it’s hard to imagine them wanting to use less of Curry as the weeks progress.

Outside of the Philadelphia Eagles own roster construction, Takk McKinley’s release means he will be subject to the waiver wire. Despite the Eagles less-than-stellar start to the 2020 season, they are still nowhere near the top of the waiver order. Pass rush needy teams like the Jets, Giants, and Patriots will all get first dibs on the former first-round pick. Considering the fact that McKinley did in fact put up 13.0 sacks through the first 31 games of his career, he should have some potential suitors eager to add him to the roster, hoping that they can rekindle some of that early production.

Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles have also shown little desire in terms of adding external talent this season. Normally, Roseman is all over player-for-player trades and late free agent acquisitions. However, this year he operated in a much different manner.

Multiple veteran RBs and veteran O-Linemen (positions of need) became available via free agency this season, and Roseman opted to pursue none of them. It could be COVID-19 related, as testing protocols delay when a player can start practicing, or it could be due to the Eagles impeding cap struggles in 2021.

Regardless, the Eagles have a crowded DE room, don’t rank towards the top of the waiver wire order, and have expressed little interest when it comes to adding free agents during this year’s regular season. With all that in mind, I’m fairly certain McKinley won’t be moving to Philadelphia anytime soon.