6 Minnesota Vikings players that will not be back in 2022
By Adam Patrick
Stephen Weatherly – DE
Before Everson Griffen re-joined the Vikings this past offseason, Stephen Weatherly was the former Minnesota pass rusher who decided to return to the Twin Cities after being away for a year.
Prior to this summer’s training camp beginning, some thought that Weatherly would emerge as Minnesota’s other starting defensive end opposite Danielle Hunter. But that thought didn’t take very long to vanish once camp and the preseason got underway.
Weatherly is not one of the Vikings’ two starting defensive ends, but he has appeared in all six of the team’s games this season. However, he’s only been on the field for 20 percent of Minnesota’s total defensive snaps, and he’s still looking for his first sack of the year.
At the end of this season, Weatherly will become a free agent. With D.J. Wonnum continuing to make progress in his development and the Vikings also having a pair of young pass rushers in Patrick Jones II and Janarius Robinson, it’s difficult to imagine Minnesota using some of their small amount of spending money in 2022 on a new deal for Weatherly.