McKinley undergoing mental evaluation after friend called for help

Takk McKinley, defensive end, played in all 16 regular season games and the playoffs, recording 6 sacks and 15 tackles. What happened next? He is entering the second year of a four-year, $10.21 million contract.

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Takk McKinley, defensive end, played in all 16 regular season games and the playoffs, recording 6 sacks and 15 tackles. What happened next? He is entering the second year of a four-year, $10.21 million contract.

Falcons defensive end Takk McKinley was detained by Los Angeles police on Tuesday and is undergoing a mental evaluation.

TMZ Sports was the first to report the incident. The Falcons acknowledged the incident in a statement Tuesday night.

“We were recently made aware of the situation involving Takk in Los Angeles earlier today,” coach Dan Quinn said in the statement released by the team Tuesday night. “Any time a situation occurs that is or could be related to mental health issues we take it very seriously. We will do everything we possibly can to support and assist Takk as our players’ mental and physical well-being are always our top priority.”

The website reported that McKinley was in a hotel when a friend became concerned for his well-being and called police.

McKinley cooperated and left with police. He was not arrested for a crime, according to the report.

McKinley was drafted by the Falcons in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.