Former Bengals OG Travelle Wharton to retire

Former Cincinnati Bengals offensive guard Travelle Wharton is announcing his retirement from football Tuesday afternoon during a press conference at Wofford.

Joseph Person with the Carolina Observer writes that "Wharton is expected to join (Jordan) Gross, his longtime teammate and neighbor, as a co-host on Gross’ weekly TV show on the Panthers’ newly launched channel on Time Warner Cable. Gross retired after 11 seasons in February and will serve as the sideline reporter during the Panthers’ radio broadcasts."

Wharton, who signed with the Bengals in 2012, suffered a major knee injury during the first preseason game of that year, effectively ending his season and his career in Cincinnati -- the Bengals released him prior to training camp in 2013.

The Panthers drafted Wharton out of South Carolina in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft. He would go on to start 111 games in his career, including 12 in 2013... his last.