Every year NFL teams hand out bad contracts in free agency to players that quickly turn into busts. Last March, the Carolina Panthers signed a few of them. Tahir Whitehead was a total waste at middle linebacker, Pharoh Cooper flamed out quick as a kick return specialist and wide receiver Seth Roberts might as well have not gotten off the plane.
One of the worst of them was defensive end Stephen Weatherly, who signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal after flashing some potential as a backup with the Vikings the previous couple of seasons. Weatherly never made an impact, finishing the 2020 season with zero sacks and just nine pressures before a finger injury put him on injured reserve.
Weatherly was a predictable early cut for Carolina this offseason and he’s since re-signed with the Vikings. He now admits that he got complacent after signing that contract with the Panthers and vows not to let it happen again, per Courtney Cronin at ESPN.
Weatherly was brutally honest about getting "complacent" after signing a 2-year, $12.5 million contract last free agency with the Panthers and vowed to never let that feeling set in again. pic.twitter.com/ooR2tQaxXn
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 8, 2021
It takes guts to say that kind of thing in this business. Competing in the NFL is hard enough even for the most motivated athletes. It’s a good sign for Weatherly (and Minnesota) that he’s willing to cop to it. It’s also another classic buyer-beware tale in free agency, which will begin next week.
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