A man with many interests, Stephen Weatherly is locked into his day job

[Sir Purr]

"It feels like that's the only way until you show the next generation that there are different ways. You talk about it, and you make it OK, and you don't condemn those who may think differently," Weatherly said.


He pointed to his history, admitting he used to get teased and called a nerd because he enjoyed things like anime.


"But now, it's highly celebrated," Weatherly said. "There's more than one way to be successful. It doesn't have to be a microphone or a ball."


But, at least for now, Weatherly's life is mainly about football with his new team. After spending his first four seasons with the Vikings, Weatherly is used to performing with strong defensive fronts. And with just over a month until this season kicks off, he's had a positive impression of Carolina's D-line.


"The sky's the limit," Weatherly said. "The level of proficiency that we're showing with a brand new defense for everyone, I'm really liking it. Our level of communication, our ability to understand how one another plays is everything. So I think it's going to be a really good defense, and I think we're going to be able to execute early on."


Much of that will depend on the youth along the line, led by last year's first-round pick Brian Burns and this year's No. 1 Derrick Brown.


"I see very similar freakish-style abilities in regards to body awareness and body control that (five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter) has back in Minnesota, in regards to Burns. He very much knows how to use his body, how to position his body to get past the tackle for pass rush. And in the run game, he may not look overly big, but he's very strong, very confident, and plays behind his hands, so he plays good edges," Weatherly said.


"Then DB, Derrick Brown, he's big. Like, I'm big, but he's big, and he does not move like he's big, which is always a great thing. So once again, learning how one another plays, that's what's going to determine how well another as a defense. Because we definitely have pieces — believe that."


While Weatherly seems to be fitting in nicely with his new teammates, he's also enjoying the longer ramp-up period this training camp.


"It helps iron out mistakes," Weatherly said.


"If I was a rookie I would be so grateful to whatever football god allowed this because when I was a rookie, when we installed, it was like a third of the playbook (for three days), and we're only on Day 5 of training camp and (the defensive coordinator) can call anything in there. But because it's a slower ramp-up, we're introducing things a lot slower, so they're able to be more confident in their ability to communicate."