FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Falcons coach Dan Quinn said 82 players saw action in Atlanta's first preseason game against the Dolphins but pass-rusher Takkarist McKinley was not one of those to see any playing time Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
McKinley underwent shoulder surgery this offseason and the Falcons have a specific plan in place for his progression.
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According to Quinn, McKinley is taking about half of the reps in team portion of practice. In order for the first-round pick to see any game action this preseason, Atlanta's head coach wants to see him get to full participation in practice, first.
"We're hopeful that if all goes well this week that we'll get a shot at it in the next preseason game," Quinn said. "He's fully cleared to get going and increase the reps from the doctor's standpoint. We are encouraged by that."
Preseason games allow Quinn and his staff to get a complete evaluation of all of their position groups, and one group in particular that Quinn wants to see improvement from is the pass rushing unit.
"I expected to see maybe a little bit more from our pass rush side of things, I thought that part had been coming along," Quinn said. "We feel like we have a lot of work to do from a pass rush standpoint."
The Falcons have a full week to get McKinley his reps and evaluate his progression at practice as they don't play another exhibition game until Aug. 20 when they take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
