Stephen Dian Weatherly (born March 19, 1994) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Vanderbilt. Having nearly completed his degree, Weatherly declared as an early draft entrant following his junior season. He was selected by the Vikings in the seventh round of the
2016 NFL draft, and has also been a member of the
Carolina Panthers,
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, and
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
.
Early life
Weatherly attended
North Atlanta High School, where he was a three-year starter at
outside linebacker,
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
and
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
. As a junior, he posted 66
tackles and 14
sacks. He also starred in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
at North Atlanta, helping lead the Warriors to two sub-region titles. He then transferred to
Shiloh High School in
Snellville, Georgia
Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. Its population was 20,573 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and ...
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
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s 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.
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 outside linebacker at the
Georgia Dome.
During his time at North Atlanta, Weatherly was also a stand out as the leader of the school's
robotics
Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
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.
In addition, Weatherly also excelled in
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
; 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
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
as a junior.
College career
Weatherly was an
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
4-star recruit, ranked as the 24th best defensive end in the country. He played defensive end 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 outside linebacker for new head coach
Derek Mason.
Professional career
Minnesota Vikings (first stint)
Weatherly was selected by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in the seventh round, 227th overall of the
2016 NFL draft. He became the first Vanderbilt
defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...
or linebacker drafted since the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
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. The next day, he was signed to the Vikings'
practice squad. 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. When teammate
Stefon Diggs was asked which guy he would least like to date his sister in an interview, he cited Weatherly because he was "ugly." Weatherly states this incident as the sole reason why his time in Minnesota was cut short.
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, 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
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
.
Carolina Panthers
Weatherly signed a two-year contract with the
Carolina Panthers on March 23, 2020. 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. He was released on February 19, 2021.
Minnesota Vikings (second stint)
Weatherly re-signed with the Vikings on March 8, 2021.
Denver Broncos
On October 23, 2021, Weatherly and a 2023 seventh-round pick was traded to the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
for a 2022 seventh-round pick.
Cleveland Browns
On April 18, 2022, Weatherly signed with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
.
On August 6, 2022, Weatherly was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
Personal life
Weatherly majored in
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
.
His first and middle names are a tribute to his grandmother, who received degrees from both
MIT and
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
.
Weatherly was part of the Fulton County Youth Commission,
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
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
with the program while in high school.
Weatherly has an affinity for chess and math, can solve a
Rubik's Cube, and enjoys puzzles and skateboarding.
He is also able to play six musical instruments.
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.
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.
Weatherly is known for wearing sunglasses under his helmet during play.
He had a relationship with Olympic volleyball player
Jordan Thompson.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherly, Stephen
1994 births
Living people
Players of American football from Snellville, Georgia
American football defensive ends
American football linebackers
Vanderbilt Commodores football players
Minnesota Vikings players
Carolina Panthers players
Denver Broncos players
Cleveland Browns players