The Facts: The Vikings officially began spring workouts on April 16. Cousins started his two weeks earlier. He didn’t waste any time getting to know some of his new teammates, bringing wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs to Atlanta to hang out in early April. “Stef and Adam came down and spent a couple of days together, and I thought that was productive,” Cousins said Tuesday. “More than just the football. Just to get to know one another a little and build somewhat of a foundation before we started with the whole crew.”

Diehards Line: Vikings players can’t work with coaches on the field until next week at the TCO Performance Center in Eagan, but Cousins has been able to spend plenty of time with his new teammates. He called it a “process” becoming a team leader, acknowledging it can’t be “forced.” Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, though, already sees Cousins commanding respect. “He’s a great leader,” Rudolph said. “You can just see that kind of naturally he has that aura about him.” Cousins threw for more than 25 touchdowns and 4,000 yards in each of the past three seasons with the Washington Redskins. His average annual salary of $28 million with the Vikings is the highest in NFL history.