The Kansas City Chiefs have retained one of their own according to multiple reports.
Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton was a restricted free agent this offseason, but instead of tendering a contract offer as the team did with Tommy Townsend, they opted to re-sign him for less than the lowest tender amount. According to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, Wharton’s contract is a one-year deal worth up to $2.025 million. He’ll have $850K guaranteed with a $500K signing bonus and can earn $25K in per-game roster bonus along with a $90K workout bonus.
A former undrafted free agent out of Missouri S&T, Wharton enters his fourth season with Kansas City in 2023. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders last year and has been working his way back to health ever since.
In three seasons with the Chiefs, Wharton has appeared in 44 combined regular season and postseason games. He’s recorded 69 total tackles, six sacks, six tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two passes batted and an interception during that span.
With Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders and Brandon Williams slated for unrestricted free agency, bringing Wharton back was an important decision for the team’s continuity and depth on the interior defensive line. A healthy return from Wharton should also allow the team to use Mike Danna more frequently as an edge rusher instead of at 3-tech in 2023.
