Jets tryout Takk McKinley feels at his best mentally, physically
New York Jets defensive end Takkarist McKinley (93) during the New York Jets Training Camp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park , NJ, Thursday, July 25, 2024 Credit: Ed Murray
Takk McKinley is grateful for the chance he has gotten with the Jets this summer. He just isn’t exactly sure which number this one actually is.
Definitely not his second chance. That came a long time ago. Third? Fourth?
After making 2 1⁄2 sacks, one of them punctuated with an on-field display of breakdancing, McKinney said with a big smile: “You know, if I’m honest with you, it’s probably like my fifth opportunity.”
Fifth and, in all likelihood, final one. But also the first that the edge rusher seems fully prepared to take advantage of.
After a career that began as a first-round pick of the Falcons in 2017, injury-riddled tenures with the Raiders and Browns, and practice squad stints with the Titans and Cowboys, and with his most recent NFL appearance in 2022, McKinley has focused on his mental health as much as his physical health in the year since he was last on a club. When he arrived for a tryout with the Jets at their minicamp in May, he was, on paper, a 28-year-old rusty, broken-down has-been. In his mind, though, he was in the best head space of his career.
“Honestly, as crazy as it sounds, I believe it was the best thing for me,” he said of his break from the sport. “It just forced me to mature up. A lot of therapy, dealt with a lot of psychiatrists. I wanted to grow. I feel like in life, you’re either growing or you’re not growing. So for me, I took the time, I put in the work and just took it day by day.
“I think for the longest time I always felt like I was alone, and that’s not true at all. If you need help, just say you need help. There are people in this world that really care and I had to open up to get help. I’m just grateful, man, I’m just grateful.”
One of the people McKinley remained in touch with during that hiatus was Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. He had recruited McKinley at UCLA and was on the Falcons’ staff when he was drafted. Ulbrich helped facilitate the tryout.
“Having the connection with Ulbrich definitely helped him get into this building to get some eyes on him, to give him that workout and that tryout in minicamp,” coach Robert Saleh said. “And from there, he’s done it all himself.”
Saleh certainly is a fan of such redemption stories, as demonstrated by the Jets’ acquisition of Solomon Thomas and, to a less successful result, his dedication to Zach Wilson throughout his time with the Jets. McKinley fits neatly within that narrative.
“You think about these young men, they get drafted whether it’s first, seventh round, whatever it is, and within a year, people want to throw guys away,” Saleh said. “Two years, three years, whatever. You get your opportunity and it’s gone in a flash. Like I’ve said, sometimes they just take a little bit longer.
“To his credit, he stayed in shape, he got the opportunity in minicamp, was really impressive. He’s always had the physical tools. It was always just a matter of him getting to the right place mentally, and I feel like he’s in that spot right now.”
As for his spot on the Jets’ roster, that may be a bit more tenuous. While McKinley has been impressive this summer and had a breakout performance Saturday, he’s also part of a very deep position for the Jets that probably will include the arrival of Haason Reddick from his holdout at some point. Those kinds of numbers could squeeze McKinley off the 53-man roster, the first version of which is due with roster cuts Tuesday afternoon.
“He’s had an awesome training camp and he’s one of those guys that we’re going to have to make decisions on,” Saleh said.
McKinley knows that deal.
“I’m at the point now where I can just control what I can control,” he said. “I’m hoping I’m with the Jets. We’ll see how it goes.”
No matter how this plays out in the coming days and weeks, though, McKinley is glad he made this one more push for the NFL. It’s allowed him to exorcise some of the “regrets” he said he harbors over how his career has played out. Some of those missteps were out of his control but others came from his decisions.
“I wish I would have done this different, I wish I would have done that different,” he said with a sigh. “We got all this money, you’re out the league, you know, it’s easy to get in trouble. For me, I just stayed hungry. I stayed motivated. I prayed every day and I’m just grateful that I got this opportunity.”
And who knows? If this doesn’t work out, maybe there is a sixth chance out there somewhere for him.
“McKinleys ain’t no quitters, man,” he said. “I got two kids and they look up to me. I’d be quitting on them if I quit on myself.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
