Chiefs defensive lineman eases back to action after suffering knee injury last season
Tershawn “Turk” Wharton is back on the Chiefs’ practice field and off the physically unable to perform list.
Some 10 months after tearing an ACL in a Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Wharton, who has lined up at defensive end and tackle, got in some light work at training camp Wednesday.
“We love having Turk back,” defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi said. “When he went down we were all hurt about it ... Everybody on the defense was happy to see him.”
Wharton was off to a solid start in his third season when he suffered the injury. In fewer than five games, he had collected a sack, the fifth of his career, and recorded four quarterback hits.
To date, his career NFL highlight came in 2021, when, as he was attempting to bat down a pass against Washington, he wound up with an interception. He’s played about 46% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps during his pro career.
Wharton has been part of Kansas City’s defensive end rotation since joining the Chiefs as a free agent in 2020. He became a fan favorite for his underdog story, playing college football at Division II Missouri University of Science and Technology — Missouri S&T — in Rolla.
“Nobody knew the potential that I had,” Wharton told The Star in 2020. “I feel like it was an opportunity that I just took and ran with.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the coaching staff will slowly work Wharton back into action.
“Turk has that great quickness and stretch, a good pass rusher,” Reid said. “And he’s a strong player who has experience. We just have to take it slow as we work with him and make sure he’s OK. We’ll have to ramp him up.”
Wharton is poised to rejoin a defensive line that is operating at training camp without star defensive tackle Chris Jones, the All-Pro whose holdout from training continues amid a contract dispute.
In other injury-related news out of Chiefs camp, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was held out of Wednesday’s practice with swelling in one of his knees. And punter Tommy Townsend is recovering from an ankle sprain. Defensive end Mike Danna missed Wednesday’s practice session with a calf strain.
