Cleveland Browns should put in claim for defensive end Takk McKinley

Takkarist McKinley should be claimed by the Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns should put in a claim for disgruntled defensive end Takk McKinley, now that he has apparently aroused the ire of the Atlanta Falcons to the point that they no longer want him.

McKinley was a first-round draft pick in 2017, and the Falcons have elected not to pick up his fifth-year option meaning that he will be free to sign with any NFL team for the 2021 season. He had asked the team to trade him, but that didn’t happen by the deadline, so the team decided they would go ahead and release him.

Whoever lands the edge rusher would be landing a rental for the next seven games max, and perhaps fewer than that, as he has been injured since September 20 and is reportedly week to week. If Atlanta had kept him, they could have possibly been awarded a compensatory draft pick for 2022 if he were to sign with another team next season.

Hence this move comes as a surprise for Falcons watchers. Needless to say, being released by the Atlanta Falcons is not exactly a badge of honor, as their defense has been terrible this year.

Nevertheless, McKinley has ability as a pass rusher, as evidenced by 17.5 career sacks, though the Browns have depth at defensive end with Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Adrian Clayborn, Porter Gustin and Joe Jackson. Even with the negatives, a talent like McKinley is difficult to turn down.

If he likes the Cleveland situation and working for Joe Woods, it could develop into a new start for him, but Cleveland’s advantage is purely psychological. McKinley will be an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere he pleases for the 2021 season.

McKinley is represented by Brian Tollner of  Rep1, which happens to be the same agency that represents Joel Bitonio. So, there is a bit of precedent for deals to be done with this agency.

Is landing him realistic?

Could a player with McKinley’s talents survive all the way through the waiver wire for the Browns to have a chance to claim him?

Recall that the waiver order goes in reverse order of win-loss record, so the teams with losing records go first. The true tragic comedy is that many of the teams are trying to tank for draft position and do not want to obtain good players. For that reason, a team like the Jets, who could really used McKinley, might shun him like the plague.

How committed are these teams to tank for Trevor Lawrence? In that case, he might actually  survive to the point where an above-.500 team would have a shot at him. The Browns should put in a claim and see what happens.

By the way, if the Browns are squeamish about claiming an unhappy player, there is a very good chance  the Ravens and Steelers are going to claim him. That needs to be factored into the decision as well.