{"id":220,"date":"2026-05-16T04:34:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=220"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:34:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:34:35","slug":"carolina-panthers-turk-wharton-undergoes-neck-procedure-ahead-of-otas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=220","title":{"rendered":"Carolina Panthers\u2019 Turk Wharton undergoes neck procedure ahead of OTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Carolina Panthers will be without starting defensive end Tershawn \u201cTurk\u201d Wharton for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=218\">NC high school baseball coach collapses before team\u2019s playoff game. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Wharton, who signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Panthers last offseason, recently underwent a neck procedure, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. While Wharton\u2019s return timeline hasn\u2019t been finalized, he is expected to play this season, the source said. However, he is expected to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.<\/p>\n<p>Wharton worked through an injury-riddled first campaign in Carolina last year, appearing in just nine games. The 6-foot-1, 280-pound defensive end, who is set to turn 27 next month, produced 36 total tackles and two sacks last season in Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Wharton was signed to be a featured pass rusher within the Panthers\u2019 odd front. He was expected to lead the trench group, along with Derrick Brown and Bobby Brown, this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=216\">DA seeks to block pre-trial release of motions in Faith Hedgepeth murder case<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Panthers selected Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter in the second round of April\u2019s NFL Draft. Hunter, who signed his four-year rookie contract on Friday, will be part of the main defensive line platoon.<\/p>\n<p>The team will now move forward with Hunter, Derrick and Bobby Brown as the primary defensive linemen. The team also has Cam Jackson, a 2025 fifth-round pick, to fill the Wharton void. Other defensive linemen under contract include journeyman LaBryan Ray, second-year defender Jared Harrison-Hunte and undrafted rookies Aaron Hall and Parker Peterson.<\/p>\n<p>The Panthers\u2019 roster is currently at the 91-man limit. If they were to add a replacement to the mix, a move would need to be made to reduce the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=214\">3 new restaurants are joining Charlotte\u2019s food scene. Where &amp; what to know<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"summary gray\">This story was originally published <span class=\"inline-block\">May 15, 2026 at 7:46 PM<span>.<\/span><\/span><!-- --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Carolina Panthers will lean on Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown, Lee Hunter and others with Turk Wharton sidelined for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Carolina Panthers\u2019 Turk Wharton undergoes neck procedure ahead of OTAs - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=220\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carolina Panthers\u2019 Turk Wharton undergoes neck procedure ahead of OTAs - 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