4 former Vikings who also spent time with the Panthers
By Randy Smith
Longtime Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen has signed with the Carolina Panthers, adding to the list of Vikings who also played in Carolina.
The Minnesota Vikings are left without the hometown player. Veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen signed with the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday. Thielen, who will turn 33 in August, was released by Minnesota earlier this offseason, but he found his next home fast.
Thielen will look to get to know incumbent starting quarterback Andy Dalton, and should the Panthers draft a rookie signal-caller with their newly acquired first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, Thielen can then be the veteran wideout that every rookie quarterback needs.
But a once-Minnesota player to don the Carolina blue and black for the Panthers is a path heard of before, leading us to a list of four former members of the Vikings who also played for Carolina during their NFL careers.
Player No. 1
Stephen Weatherly – DE
Stephen Weatherly was a seventh-round draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft for the Vikings. Coming out of Vanderbilt, the 260-pound plus defensive lineman had tallied 26 sacks in his collegiate career.
His NFL career did not see as much success. Weatherly had a pair of three-sack seasons with the Vikings in 2018 and 2019, but then he became a free agent and signed with the Panthers in 2020.
Weatherly had 17 total tackles (one for a loss), and three quarterback hits in nine games for Carolina before eventually landing on injured reserve. The Panthers wound up releasing him during the 2021 offseason.
He even had another stint in Minnesota in 2021, but Weatherly can now empathize with Thielen about being a former Viking on the Panthers roster.