Tershawn Wharton

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.

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. 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.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs Wharton was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2020. He made the Chiefs' final roster out of training camp. Wharton made his NFL debut in the season opener on September 10, against the Houston Texans, making two tackles in a 34–20 win. In Week 8 against the New York Jets, Wharton recorded his first pro sack during the 35–9 win. 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.

In the Chiefs' week-5 game of the 2022 season, Wharton tore his ACL. He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2022. Without Wharton, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

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.

On March 14, 2024, the Chiefs re-signed Wharton to a one-year, $2.742 million extension.

Carolina Panthers On March 10, 2025, Wharton signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Carolina Panthers. 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.

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