Tershawn Wharton announcement that he is leaving the Kansas City now another significant issue for the Team……

On Wednesday, there was a big surprise from the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton — who tore his ACL during Week 5 last season — returned to practice. Wharton had been placed on the Active/PUP (physically-unable-to-perform) list at the start of camp.

After his return, fellow defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi said that “everyone on the defense was happy to see him back” — which led to a welcome unlike any Wharton had ever experienced.

“I think it took a moment to just take it all in,” the fourth-year player recalled after practice on Thursday, “because I’ve been watching for so long. I’ve never had a serious injury. Just seeing those guys and their reaction to it shows that it is a family here — and that I’ve got love on the team, you know.”

Though happy to be back with his peers, Wharton knows returning to the field after a major injury is a long process — and fans should not expect to see him on the field for the Chiefs’ first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on August 13.

“Right now, we are just getting well for me coming back off of injury,” he noted. “I’m just preparing to get back fully healthy and continue to take my strides so I can play.”

Still, if it was up to him, Wharton would be a full-go.

“I think I’m ready,” he declared. “I’ve been watching. When I get out there, I’m just ready. For now, I’m taking it with stride [like] they’re telling me to do. But I’m ready.”

One of those people telling him what to do is assistant athletic trainer Julie Frymyer, who is likely to be immortalized as one of the greatest non-players in team history after working with quarterback Patrick Mahomes to keep him on the field after the league’s biggest star suffered a high ankle sprain early in the 2022 playoffs.

Wharton can attest to Frymyer’s magic.

“I had Julie, and she’s great,” he agreed. “Her job — she emphasizes it well, and she got me right. I think all the things you hear about Julie, I’ll just say [they’re] true.”