The Kansas City Chiefs were able to keep most of their roster together from last year’s trip to the Super Bowl. While they did use the franchise tag to retain Trey Smith and convinced Hollywood Brown to stay before he hit the free agent market, there were a couple of players that got away.
Some exits were the Chiefs’ decision as they traded Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears and watched Justin Reid (New Orleans Saints) and DeAndre Hopkins (Baltimore Ravens) sign with new teams. But some left Kansas City in search of a fresh start and one drew the praise of head coach Andy Reid on the way out.
Andy Reid Praises Former Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton
Reid addressed reporters on Monday and had plenty of good things to say about former Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton. The DT signed a three-year, $45 million contract with Carolina in free agency and Reid complimented the 26-year-old, including saying he's “a worker” according to Joe Person of The Athletic.
Andy Reid had good things to say about former Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton, who signed with Carolina thus month. Among other things, called Wharton a “worker.” pic.twitter.com/q9dQI7U18K
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 31, 2025
It was fitting considering how Wharton had performed for Kansas City since joining the team as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri S&T. Wharton racked up 114 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in five seasons for the Chiefs and finished his tenure on a high note, collecting 6.5 sacks in 2024.
While Wharton was productive, he had his reasons for leaving. He told reporters earlier this month that he had to play out of position at times as a pass-rushing nose tackle in Steve Spagnulo’s defense.
He also felt that the move to Carolina would allow him to play as a pure three-technique defensive tackle, setting him up to penetrate the opposition’s offensive line as opposed to stopping the run.
There are also 45 million reasons why Wharton decided to head to Carolina and fix their historically bad defense that set an NFL record with 534 points allowed last season. But Reid has chosen to take the high road and Kansas City will look to move on with Chris Jones, Mike Pennel and free agent acquisition Jerry Tillery in the trenches.