Assessing Stephen Weatherly’s value ahead of 2020 free agency

Weatherly’s upcoming contract

There is no doubt that Stephen Weatherly has earned a multi-year deal during free agency this year. Only time will tell if this is with the Vikings or not.

The defensive end made $720,000 in base salary in 2019, the final season of his rookie deal. Weatherly has career earnings of $2.12 million and he will be seeking a bigger payday from his next deal.

Not many seventh-round picks make it to this stage of their NFL careers. But Weatherly has demonstrated an exceptional work ethic during his time in Minnesota and he has gotten the most out of his potential.

The Vikings have been known to reward their former draft picks for good production, sometimes to their detriment. With cap restrictions the way they are currently in Minnesota, they are going to have to pick and choose wisely which players get what little money there is to go around.

Somewhere in the region of $12 million over four years might be enough to entice Weatherly to re-sign with the Vikings. A major stumbling block will be if another NFL franchise sees him as a potential starter and offers more money with the chance of substantially more time on the field.

Any such opportunity would be hard for Weatherly to pass up, especially given the money that could be available to him later on in his career if he performs at a high level.