Broncos acquire Stephen Weatherly in trade from Minnesota

Ten days of ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline, Broncos general manager George Paton made a deal Saturday, acquiring defensive end/linebacker Stephen Weatherly from the Minnesota Vikings.

The full deal is Weatherly and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Broncos for a ’22 seventh-round selection.

Weatherly was originally a seventh-round pick by the Vikings in 2016 when Paton worked in the team’s front office. This is Paton’s first trade with his former boss, Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman.

Listed at 6-foot-5, 263 pounds, Weatherly played defensive end in the Vikings’ 4-3 front, but is expected to play outside linebacker in the Broncos’ 3-4 scheme. The Broncos have been depleted by injury at outside linebacker. Bradley Chubb (ankle) has played one game and Aaron Patrick (ankle) and Andre Mintze (hamstring) are also on injured reserve.

Von Miller sprained his ankle in the first half of the Broncos’ loss at Cleveland on Thursday, leaving Malik Reed and Jonathon Cooper as the only remaining healthy edge players.

In 64 career games (16 starts), Weatherly has 93 tackles and six sacks. He had three sacks apiece in 2018-19 for the Vikings. He played last year for Carolina, but returned to Minnesota this year. He has also played 114 special teams snaps this year.

The trade allowed Paton to start re-building his 2023 draft cupboard; before the deal, he did not have sixth- or seventh-round picks in ’23.

In a corresponding roster move, the Broncos placed inside linebacker Micah Kiser on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least three games. Kiser, making his first start for the Broncos, sustained a groin injury in the first half on Thursday joins inside backers Josey Jewell (pectoral), Alexander Johnson (pectoral) and Jonas Griffin (hamstring) on injured reserve.

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