Source: Panthers, DL Wharton agree on 3-year, $54M deal
Free agent defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton has agreed to a three-year deal with $30 million guaranteed with the Carolina Panthers, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The deal could be worth more than $54 million, the source said.
The Panthers also agreed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal to bring back cornerback Michael Jackson, according to a source. Jackson led the team in pass deflections last year with 17.
Wharton, 26, had the best season of his five-year NFL career for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. He had a career-high 6.5 sacks while playing in 17 games with 10 starts, and he added two more in three postseason games.
Wharton’s biggest game came in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had two sacks of Justin Herbert, including one in the fourth quarter to help snuff a drive and hold the Chargers to a field goal. The Chiefs would counter with a late field goal of their own to win 19-17.
Wharton joined the Chiefs in 2020 as an undrafted rookie from Missouri S&T, a Division II football school. But he earned time in the lineup as a rookie, playing in all 16 games with one start and getting two sacks.
Wharton also had two sacks in 2021 but was limited to five games in 2022 after tearing his ACL. He returned to play in 17 games with one start in 2023 and had two sacks.
He has 13.5 sacks in five NFL seasons.
ESPN’s Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
Linebacker Cody Barton reached agreement on a three-year, $21 million deal with the Tennessee Titans, sources told ESPN’s Turron Davenport on Monday, confirming multiple reports.
Barton, 28, turned out to be an important bargain in free agency for the Denver Broncos this past season.
The Broncos signed him to a one-year, $2.5 million deal last March, believing he’d be a potential core special teamer who would play situationally on defense. But Barton showed in offseason workouts and in training camp that he could be a reliable option at inside linebacker. And when linebacker Alex Singleton suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3, Barton immediately turned into a mainstay at the position.
He finished with a career-high 1,053 defensive snaps (91%), turning them into 106 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble return for a touchdown and five passes defensed.
After Singleton’s injury, Barton wore the green dot on his helmet as the defensive player who took defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s playcalls and conveyed them in the huddle.
Barton largely had been a special teamer in his first three seasons in the league with the Seattle Seahawks, who picked him in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. But he’s finished each of the last three seasons — with the Seahawks in 2022, Washington Commanders in 2023 and Denver in 2024 — with at least 100 tackles. All five of his career interceptions and 3.5 of his career sacks have come in those three seasons.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.
ESPN
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Patrick Mahomes Was Pumped for Now Ex-Teammate Getting Huge Deal With Panthers
Patrick Mahomes is thrilled for his now ex-teammate Tershawn Wharton.
On Monday, Wharton agreed to a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $54.1 million. The new pact will pay the defensive tackle $30.25 million in guaranteed money. Wharton had spent the first five seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning two Super Bowls.
Mahomes took to social media to classily congratulate Wharton on his new deal. He tweeted, “Happy for my dawg!”
Wharton was an undrafted free agent in 2020 and caught on with the Chiefs. He slowly worked his way up the team’s depth chart and had a big season in 2024. Wharton started 10 games last season, racking up a career-best 6.5 sacks and adding two more in the postseason.
The 26-year-old will get a chance to fill a much bigger role in Carolina. His former quarterback seems thrilled for him.
Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.
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