When Wharton, the free agent signed this spring from Kansas City, was initially hurt in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Panthers elected not to put him on injured reserve, in hopes he could return before the required four-game absence for such a transaction. The message and the hope were clear: Wharton would be back sooner rather than later.
Back on the practice field two-and-a-half weeks after the injury, the hope seems to have been founded, even if it felt long for Wharton.
“I tried to push it,” he admitted. “Tried to get back with the guys early just because, just want to be a part of them. We’re dominating right now, so it kind of makes it okay for you to sit down when the defense is playing how we’re playing.
“And then just being able to know that, I wasn’t on IR, you know, I was coming back. So just stay on my flow of things and making sure that I’m consistent with what I do.”
But through it all, Wharton—who teammates say manages to be both incredibly intense and quick with a joke—refused to lose any moment of progress. His 20 defensive snaps before the injury made an impact and impression, if Horn and Brown’s testimony is to be believed, but it is still just 20 snaps in the regular season. So Wharton found other ways to stay caught up with his team.