Sterling Weatherford (born January 26, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2022 after playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Miami (OH).

College career

Weatherford was a two-star prospect coming out of

Hamilton Heights Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood an ...

and committed to the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

on August 2, 2016. In his freshman season, he was named Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year, before playing in twelve games as a sophomore, starting one. In a game against

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, Weatherford recorded a career-high nine tackles. In 2019, he finished second on the team with ninety-eight tackles, helping Miami defeat

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

for the MAC Championship. In 2021, he was named All-MAC 2nd Team Defense after recording sixty-six tackles, two interceptions, and a sack.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Weatherford signed with the

as an

following the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

on April 30, 2022. In his first preseason game, Weatherford recorded an interception of

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

quarterback

Matt Barkley Matthew Montgomery Barkley (born September 8, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth roun ...

. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30.

Chicago Bears

On August 31, Weatherford was claimed by the

and signed to their active roster. Colts GM

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (politician), Canadian ...

was reportedly "upset" that the Bears claimed Weatherford, hoping to re-sign him to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio

Miami RedHawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherford, Sterling 1999 births Living people American football linebackers Players of American football from Indiana Miami RedHawks football players Chicago Bears players