Report: DE Stephen Weatherly signing with Vikings

Towards the end of his Vikings career, Stephen Weatherly was a useful reserve for a good pass rush.

Weatherly had two consecutive seasons with three sacks — 2018 and 2019. Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen were the main options on the edge, but Weatherly and Ifeadi Odenigbo made it so offensive linemen couldn’t ease up in the absence of a starter.

In 2020, Weatherly ended up signing with the Panthers in free agency, and Minnesota struggled to replace him, Griffen and Hunter. The Vikings pass rush was ranked dead last by PFF.

So it’s not a bad idea for Minnesota to go and re-sign Weatherly and that’s what it did, according to multiple reports and a post Weatherly had on social media.

Weatherly ideally won’t be a starter, but he is solid depth. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported that it’s a one-year deal.

Weatherly had a chance at a bigger role in Carolina, but it didn’t pan out. Now, he has an opportunity to prove he can still provide pressure. He gets to try and do that with the team that drafted him, too.