4 biggest Panthers disappointments through Week 4 of 2020 season
By Dean Jones
Stephen Weatherly – Carolina Panthers DE
Big things were expected of Stephen Weatherly following his free-agent arrival from the Minnesota Vikings. The defensive end finally got the chance to become a prominent starter in the NFL and the Carolina Panthers placed a lot of faith in the player to get the job done.
Weatherly has gotten off to a slow start, which has been a real disappointment. The former seventh-round pick hasn’t registered a single sack through for games and there is a real chance that he loses his starting place on the defensive front to rookie Yetur Gross-Matos if he doesn’t start producing the goods.
There have been some nice moments from Weatherly. His setting of the edge in running situations has been much improved over the last fortnight. And having the added sense of urgency with Gross-Matos breathing down his neck might come with some added intensity in the coming weeks.
The Penn State product came to life for the first time this season against the Cardinals, recording the first strip-sack of his professional career. It would be a huge surprise if Gross-Matos didn’t become a more influential part of the rotation as the campaign goes on, which piles even more pressure on Weatherly.
Hopefully, this is just a case of Weatherly needing time to settle into his new surroundings and a role of importance with no preseason games to do so before competitive action got underway. But it is a situation to monitor closely from here on in.