Tershawn Wharton
_(cropped).jpg) Wharton with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 98 – Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status |  Physically unable to perform | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | June 25, 1998 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | University City (University City, Missouri) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Missouri S&T (2016–2019) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2020: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||
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Tershawn "Turk" Wharton (born June 25, 1998) is an American professional football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri S&T Miners.
Early life
Wharton grew up in University City, Missouri, and attended Maplewood Richmond Heights High School for his first three seasons before transferring to University City High School. As a senior, he recorded 110 tackles with four sacks and an interception and was named first-team All-Suburban Central Conference.[1]
College career
Wharton was a four-year starter for the Missouri S&T Miners. He was named first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) after recording 64 tackles and 13.5 sacks in his sophomore season.[2] He had 7.5 sacks both as a junior and senior and was named first-team All-GLVC in each season. Wharton finished his collegiate career with 58 tackles for loss and 35.5 sacks.[3]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 280 lb (127 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 6 ft 4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m) | ||||||||
| All values from Pro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
Kansas City Chiefs
Wharton was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2020.[5] He made the Chiefs' final roster out of training camp.[6] Wharton made his NFL debut in the season opener on September 10, against the Houston Texans, making two tackles in a 34–20 win.[7] In Week 8 against the New York Jets, Wharton recorded his first pro sack during the 35–9 win.[8] Wharton finished his regular season with 27 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the regular season. Wharton recorded two tackles following the loss in Super Bowl LV.[9]
In the Chiefs' week-5 game of the 2022 season, Wharton tore his ACL.[10] He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2022.[11] Without Wharton, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.[12]
In 2023, Wharton recorded 21 tackles, two sacks, and one fumble recovery. Wharton recorded one tackle in Super Bowl LVIII, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22.[13][14]
On March 14, 2024, the Chiefs re-signed Wharton to a one-year, $2.742 million extension.[15]
Carolina Panthers
On March 10, 2025, Wharton signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.[16] He started all nine of his appearances for Carolina during the regular season, recording one pass deflection, two sacks, and 36 combined tackles.
On May 16, 2026, it was reported that Wharton would be out indefinitely after undergoing neck surgery.[17]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Fum | ||
| 2020 | KC | 16 | 1 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 2.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | KC | 17 | 1 | 29 | 13 | 16 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 5 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2023 | KC | 17 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | KC | 17 | 10 | 29 | 18 | 11 | 6.5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2025 | CAR | 9 | 9 | 36 | 11 | 25 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| Career | 81 | 22 | 150 | 67 | 83 | 15.5 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 1 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Fum | ||
| 2020 | KC | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2021 | KC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | KC | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2024 | KC | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| 2025 | CAR | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| Career | 14 | 3 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ↑ Kean, John (February 3, 2016). "S&T football announce recruit signings". The Rolla Daily News. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ↑ Kean, John (December 1, 2017). "FOOTBALL: Miners' Jones, Wharton named All-Super Region 3". Phelps County Focus. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ↑ Goldman, Charles (May 7, 2020). "Chiefs UDFA DE Tershawn Wharton ready to show NFL he belongs". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ↑ "Tershawn Wharton, Missouri S&T, DT, 2020 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ↑ Pollock, Billy (April 27, 2020). "Missouri S&T defensive star signs with Chiefs". Missourinet.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ↑ McDowell, Sam; Teope, Herbie (September 5, 2020). "Chiefs are trimming their roster to 53 with Saturday cuts: Get tracker updates here". Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ↑ Goldman, Charles (September 10, 2020). "Instant analysis of Chiefs' Week 1 win over Texans". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ↑ "New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – November 1st, 2020". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ↑ Van Sickle, Mark (June 26, 2021). "What to Expect from Tershawn Wharton and Tommy Townsend in Year 2". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ↑ Williams, Charean (October 11, 2022). "Tershawn Wharton tore ACL in Monday night's game". ProFootballTalk. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ↑ Goldman, Charles (October 15, 2022). "Chiefs make several roster moves ahead of Week 6 vs. Bills". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Super Bowl LVII - Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 12th, 2023". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on February 3, 2026. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ↑ Maaddi, Rob (February 12, 2024). "Patrick Mahomes rallies the Chiefs to second straight Super Bowl title, 25–22 over 49ers in overtime". AP News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ↑ "Super Bowl LVIII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 11th, 2024". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ↑ "Report: KC Chiefs re-signing DL Tershawn Wharton to one-year contract". Si.com. March 14, 2024. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
- ↑ Oz, Idan. "BREAKING: Underrated Chiefs' DT Signs With Panthers". Kansas City Chiefs on Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Panthers DL Tershawn Wharton had neck surgery, likely to open camp on PUP list". nbcsports.com. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
External links
- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo Sports · Pro Football Reference
- Carolina Panthers bio
- Missouri S&T Miners bio