Chiefs news: Turk Wharton re-signs one-year deal to stay in Kansas City

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to get business done with plenty of their own free agents this week,. The latest re-signing further builds up a defensive line that could have suffered a lot of player exits this spring.

According to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, the Chiefs are re-signing Tershawn "Turk" Wharton to a single-season deal worth up to $2.5 million.

The Kansas City Chiefs are keeping more of the defensive line together with the signing of Pennel and Wharton.

Wharton was scheduled to hit free agency alongside teammates Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, and Chris Jones. For a while, Neil Farrell and Matt Dickerson were the lone players remaining on the roster at defensive tackle who'd earned any real playing time at all this past season.

The Chiefs re-signed Jones before free agency opened to a new five-year deal. When that wrapped up, the Chiefs turned their attention to tinkering around with the roster with a series of several minor signings (or re-signings) including tight end Irv Smith Jr., long snapper James Winchester, and defensive tackle Mike Pennel.

Wharton was a solid find for the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent back in 2020 out of Missouri S&T. Wharton not only made the Chiefs preseason roster but the active roster as well as a rookie and ended up playing in every single game. From there, he's climbed the depth chart enough to play between 37 to 48 percent of all defensive snaps over the last four seasons.

With the decision to bring back Pennel and Wharton, the Chiefs now have a rotation of those two along with Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell to apply along the interior. Expect the Chiefs to continue to address the defensive front with greater investments as the offseason wears on.