Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#23. Travelle Wharton
Travelle Wharton is Carolina through and through. He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, went to high school in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia. As fate would have it, he stayed in Carolina for the start of his pro career after the Panthers drafted him with the 94th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
He started out as a reserve as a rookie but eventually took over after Week 5 as the Panthers mixed and matched guard combinations. He would not relinquish that starting spot for nearly a decade outside of a couple of injury-shortened seasons, though he’d shift around here and there. He played a season at left tackle while Jordan Gross kicked over to right tackle. Eventually, the Panthers would settle on Gross at left tackle and Wharton at left guard, and that duo became a staple of the offensive line for several seasons. While Wharton never earned the accolades of his teammate, he was equally important to providing stability and quality to the left side of the line. He was only flagged for 23 penalties during his 115 games as a Panther and only three false starts.
Wharton ventured outside the boundaries of the Carolinas in 2012 after his release from Carolina and signed with the Bengals, but he suffered knee injury in camp and never suited up for Cincinnati. He was released the following summer and found his way back to Carolina, where he played one final season as the Panthers’ left guard before calling it a career.
He’s stayed involved with the team since his retirement. He spent a couple of seasons on staff as an assistant offensive line coach before he was let go along with most of Ron Rivera’s staff after the latter was fired in 2019. He’s also done media with the Panthers, teaming up with his former linemate Jordan Gross to do a local TV show for a spell. In all, his 115 games played for the Panthers is fourth in franchise history among offensive lineman. That longevity along with his reliability and Carolina connections land him at number 23 on the list of top 100 Carolina Panthers of all time.
