Dallas Cowboys looking to sign another Dan Quinn disciple in DE Takk McKinley
The Dallas Cowboys brought in free-agent defensive end Takkaris McKinley for a visit Saturday and are working on signing him to a contract, owner Jerry Jones and vice president Stephen Jones said.
“Obviously we have him here for a reason,” Stephen Jones said. “We’re very interested in him.”
But he is healthy and ready to go, owner Jerry Jones said.
“He has got a chance to play this year,” Jerry Jones said. “We’ll see where we go from here.”
McKinley would give the Cowboys another potential pass rusher to make up for the loss of Randy Gregory, who signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency.
McKinley would potentially join a defensive end rotation that includes DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Amstrong, Tarell Bashem, Dante Fowler and rookie Sam Williams.
Jerry Jones said the key with McKinley is the connection he has with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
McKinley, picked 26th overall by the Falcons in 2017, played for Quinn for the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NFL career when Quinn was the Atlanta head coach.
McKinley was with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and with the Cleveland Browns in 2021.
He has 20 career sacks in 60 games.
The Cowboys have also been following McKinley since the 2017 draft when they were all in on pass rushers. They took Taco Charlton one pick after McKinley went to the Falcons. Charlton lasted less than three seasons with the Cowboys.
“We had him in for a visit, loved him coming out,” Stephen Jones said of McKinley. “[Former Cowboys defensive coordinator] Rod [Marinelli] was a huge fan, and we were too, of the way he plays the game — play temperament, play style. And then of course the obvious: Dan coached him. We’ve got a lot of inside knowledge there, too. You can’t have enough guys who can rush the passer.”
