The New Orleans Saints drafted Louisville's Tyler Shough in the second round with the No. 40 pick, introducing further uncertainty as to Derek Carr's position next season. The Seahawks later selected Alabama's Jalen Milroe in the third round with the No. 92 pick, followed by the Browns taking Oregon's Dillon Gabriel at No. 94.

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.