Stephen Weatherly
Stephen Dian Weatherly (born March 19, 1994) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Vanderbilt.[1] Having nearly completed his degree, Weatherly declared as an early draft entrant following his junior season. He was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and played for the Carolina Panthers in 2020.
_(cropped).jpg.webp) Weatherly with the Denver Broncos in 2021 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | March 19, 1994 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 265 lb (120 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Shiloh (Snellville, GA) North Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) | ||||||||
| College: | Vanderbilt | ||||||||
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2016 / Round: 7 / Pick: 227 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2021 | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
High school career
Weatherly attended North Atlanta High School, where he was a three-year starter at outside linebacker, defensive end and wide receiver. As a junior, he posted 66 tackles and 14 sacks. He also starred in basketball at North Atlanta, helping lead the Warriors to two sub-region titles. He then transferred to Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia for his senior year. He was named team captain and contributed with 79 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles on defense, while also hauling in eight catches and two receiving touchdowns on offense, helping lead his team to the postseason in the Gwinnett County All-Star Game. For his season efforts, he earned All-Gwinnett County honors.[2] He was the first and only Gwinnett County player to be invited to and play in the inaugural Georgia High School Senior Allstar Bowl as an OLB at the Georgia Dome.
During his time at North Atlanta, Weatherly was also a stand out as the leader of the school's robotics team that won the Georgia regional championship and went to the world championships in St. Louis, where they competed against other teams around the world.[3] In addition, Weatherly also excelled in track and field; he competed as a sprinter and long jumper for the Warriors, recording personal-bests of 11.13 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.98 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 5.87 meters (19'3") in the long jump as a junior.[4]
College career
Weatherly was an ESPN 4-star recruit, ranked as the 24th best Defensive End in the country. He played DE in his first two seasons at Vanderbilt under head coach James Franklin. Weatherly recorded his 1st college career sack against Bo Wallace in his 1st game as a red-shirt freshman in the 2013 season opener vs Ole Miss. His last 2 years at Vanderbilt were played as an OLB for new head coach Derek Mason.
| Regular season statistics | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | Tfl | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | FR YDS |
| 2013 | Vanderbilt | 12 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | Vanderbilt | 12 | 9 | 59 | 30 | 29 | 4.5 | 12.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Vanderbilt | 12 | 12 | 39 | 24 | 15 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 36 | 21 | 116 | 66 | 50 | 11.5 | 26.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
Professional career
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Weatherly's NFL Combine workout | |
| Weatherly gets drafted by Minnesota |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+3⁄8 in (1.94 m) |
267 lb (121 kg) |
34+1⁄2 in (0.88 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.61 s | 1.59 s | 2.67 s | 4.42 s | 7.07 s | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 23 reps | |
| All values from NFL combine, except 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill from Vanderbilt's Pro Day[5] | ||||||||||||
Minnesota Vikings
Weatherly was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round, 227th overall of the 2016 NFL Draft.[6] He became the first Vanderbilt defensive lineman or linebacker drafted since the Indianapolis Colts selected Tim Fugger in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft and also the second Vanderbilt alum ever drafted by the Vikings. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Vikings as part of final roster cuts.[7] The next day, he was signed to the Vikings' practice squad.[8] After spending the first 11 weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad, Weatherly was signed to the active roster on November 21, 2016.[9]
After not starting any games or recording any sacks during his first two seasons, Weatherly saw an increased role during the absence of Everson Griffen in 2018,[10] starting six games and recording three sacks.
In 2019, Weatherly started only one game, but again recorded three sacks during the regular season, and had one sack in the postseason, coming in the divisional round in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Carolina Panthers
Weatherly signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 23, 2020.[11] He was named one of the Panthers starting defensive ends to start 2020. He started the first nine games before being placed on injured reserve on November 13, 2020, after undergoing finger surgery.[12] He was released on February 19, 2021.[13]
Minnesota Vikings (second stint)
Weatherly re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings on March 8, 2021.[14]
Denver Broncos
On October 23, 2021, Weatherly and a 2023 seventh-round pick was traded to the Denver Broncos for a 2022 seventh-round pick. [15]
Weatherly is known for wearing sunglasses under his helmet during play.
Cleveland Browns
On April 18, 2022, Weatherly signed with the Cleveland Browns.[16]
On August 6, 2022, Weatherly was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.[17]
Personal life
Weatherly majored in sociology at Vanderbilt University.[2] His first and middle names are a tribute to his grandmother, who received degrees from both MIT and Harvard.[2] Weatherly was part of the Fulton County Youth Commission,[2] which was designed to address youth issues in the community by using the leaders of the youth to work in policy making and community service. He traveled throughout Germany with the program while in high school.[2] Weatherly has an affinity for chess and math, can solve a Rubik's Cube, and enjoys puzzles and skateboarding.[3] He is also able to play six musical instruments.[3]
Weatherly is a hobbyist glass-blower and appeared as a guest judge on season two, episode seven, of the Netflix show Blown Away, which premiered in 2021.[18] In the episode, Weatherly references his experience in the football community to relate with the competing artists regarding the stigma around speaking about mental health and accepting physical damage to pursue something one loves.
He had a relationship with Olympic volleyball player Jordan Thompson.
References
- "Vanderbilt's Stephen Weatherly drafted by Vikings". Tennessean.com. April 30, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- "Stephen Weatherly". VUCommodores.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Krammer, Andrew (May 25, 2016). "What we've learned about the rookies: DE Stephen Weatherly". 1500ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- "Stephen D. Weatherly Track and Field, XC Recruiting Profile". BeRecruited.com. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- "*Stephen Weatherly – Vanderbilt, OLB : 2016 NFL Draft Scout External News". nfldraftscout.com.
- "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- "Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set 53-Man Roster". Vikings.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016.
- "Vikings Sign 9 Players To Practice Squad". Vikings.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018.
- Peters, Craig (November 21, 2016). "Vikings Sign Weatherly to Active Roster". Vikings.com.
- "Stephen Weatherly answers the call for Vikings". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- "Panthers sign defensive end Stephen Weatherly". Panthers.com. March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- "Stephen Weatherly, Reggie Bonnafon placed on reserve/injured list". Panthers.com. November 13, 2020.
- Gantt, Darin (February 19, 2021). "Panthers release DE Stephen Weatherly, P Michael Palardy". Carolina Panthers Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- Smith, Eric (March 8, 2021). "Stephen Weatherly Signs Contract to Rejoin Vikings". Vikings.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- DiLalla, Aric (October 23, 2021). "Broncos acquire OLB Stephen Weatherly in trade with Vikings, place ILB Micah Kiser on IR". DenverBroncos.com.
- Poisal, Anthony (April 18, 2022). "Browns sign DT Sheldon Day, DE Stephen Weatherly, make other roster moves". clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- "Browns sign DE Chris Odom, place DE Stephen Weatherly on injured reserve". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 6, 2022.
- "The Weatherly Report: Glass Blowing | Minnesota Vikings". Minnesota Vikings Youtube. Minnesota Vikings. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
External links
Media related to Stephen Weatherly at Wikimedia Commons