Tershawn Wharton
American football player (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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Physically unable to performSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
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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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
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 | |