Fontenot had stated that he does not have a number in mind of how much he would want teams to pay for the guaranteed salary. The full no trade clause is also haunting the Falcons as Cousins could reject any trade to a team that would not start him.

Last year, the Falcons committed $100 million to quarterback Kirk Cousins, roughly six weeks before making quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a top-10 pick.

The status of quarterback Kirk Cousins remains a backdrop to the Atlanta Falcons' plans for the NFL draft after he surprised some observers by reporting for the first day of the team's voluntary offseason program.