Last year, Caleb Farley was going through so much in his life. On top of a back injury and nerve issue that cost him all of the 2023 season, Farley had to deal with the devastating news in training camp that his father had died in a gas explosion at Farley’s North Carolina home.
Injured and unable to play – or even practice for most of the season – the former first-round pick could be found sitting at his locker, often quietly reading his Bible while his teammates would be getting ready to go on the practice field to get ready for that week’s game.
Now, through rehab and his strong faith, Farley is back on the field just months after he had serious doubts as to whether he would ever play another snap of football again.
“I’m just so grateful. I’ve been feeling extremely grateful. I don’t think you guys understand. I really and truly believed I would never play football again, and just to be out here running around and practicing, I’m so grateful. Glory be to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior and the Father God,” Farley said Thursday at mini-camp. “God has been there to nudge me along in some very, very dark moments this past year, and couple of years with my foot.”
It is understandable that Farley would not want to rehash the tragedies that have befallen him over the past couple of years. But just as Job in the Bible was able to overcome and saw his faith rewarded, Farley is hoping the same will apply to his life.
“I’m grateful to be here practicing and I have the mentality to look ahead and see opportunity in front of me. Anything can happen, and I know that to be true, and I believe that wholeheartedly. I’m ready to come to training camp, not to participate, but to come and compete,” he said.
Farley said that even as recently as this past offseason he thought his football career was done. After missing all of last year, Farley had 12 games and three starts to show for three years in the NFL with the Titans.
“All of last season. January to be honest with you. January and February. I don’t really want to get into details for obvious reasons, but January,” Farley said.
“I’m telling you God has truly come through and done the impossible. Really, I’m serious. I have to proclaim that loud and clear, because it truly has been an impossible situation. I felt hopeless and helpless, and somehow I’m still standing here in cleats practicing and I get to go home and watch some plays that I make and what not. I’m extremely grateful.”
In addition to the work of the Lord, one of his new teammates has also been a godsend to help Farley cope with and fight off the mental challenges of salvaging his career.
“Shout out to Chidobe (Awuzie), because he has been a guy that has helped me in some of my thinking, and kind of even raising me above and pushing me beyond some of the stuff that mentally could be holding me back. Shout out to Chido for that. I think he deserves the recognition for what he’s done behind the scenes,” Farley said of the veteran cornerback who signed with the Titans after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals.
Farley said that Awuzie keeps him in the right frame of mind and keeps him from dwelling on the past.
“The circ*mstances and situation can have a mental pull on you, where you try to act like something is not there, but it’s there. Chidobe has caught me mentally in some of those areas and absolutely not allowed me to stay there, and I think he needs to be acknowledged for that,” Farley said.
Awuzie said Farley helps to inspire him as well.
“He’s been through a lot of adversity, but the only thing about adversity is how you respond. We’ve had tough conversations like that, but it’s not a one-way street. It’s a two-way street. He gives a lot of information to be and things to think about so I can become a better man,” Awuzie said of Farley.
Farley said he likes new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and his approach to football. Now back on the field, he is eager to prove himself to the new staff.
“With Coach D and this staff, whatever football is left in me, I believe they’re going to bring it out of me. So I’m excited for that,” Farley said.
The fourth-year cornerback, who will be a free agent after the 2024 season, said he has a new attitude along with his new lease on life and can’t wait for training camp to begin. And while he might not be quite the same guy he was when the Titans drafted him 22nd overall in 2021 from Virginia Tech, he said he is plenty capable of playing at a high level.
“Obviously, I can continue to work out and train and get stronger and get better. So far in OTAs, I’ve put a lot of great stuff on film and I’ve put some bad stuff, but as far as do I think I will ever be the athlete I was in college coming out before all these nerve things? No. But do I believe that I have enough and more than enough to get the job done at a high level? Absolutely,” he said.
“…There’s been some very dark times. … I’m ready to empty the tank and just let it go and be aggressive.”
Experiment time
In the Titans seven-on-seven work as they install the offense during mini-camp, there have admittedly been some ups and downs. Coach Brian Callahan said the defense got the best of Will Levis and the offense on Wednesday in red zone work, but he praised the offense for a good bounce back day Thursday as mini-camp came to a close.
There were several throws where the ball went into tight windows and even into double coverage. But Callahan said seven-on-seven is the time to try things to see what works and what doesn’t, so that crucial mistakes happen now, rather than in a game.
“Seven-on-seven, to me, has always been a bit of an experimental period for quarterbacks. There’s no consequence and sometimes you use those reps to find out what you can get away with,” Callahan said. “I encourage those quarterbacks to maybe not necessarily check the ball down every time in seven-on-seven. Test your throws. Test the throw into a tight coverage. Test it into a tight window and then we can coach off the decision-making.
“But sometimes, there is a place for a little bit of experimentation and trying to see what you can and can’t get away with in a live motion period. So yeah, they’re allowed to have some freedom to try some throws, and we coach off of it and you can say, ‘Look, we know that you’d probably get to the back here in a real game or where you check the ball down here,’ but we don’t mind an aggressive approach sometimes in seven-on-seven.”
Backup battle
Callahan said that Malik Willis will get a chance to try and claim the No. 2 quarterback role behind Levis. The Titans signed veteran Mason Rudolph, presumably for that role in the offseason.
Callahan said both will get plenty of training camp and preseason reps in order to determine who Levis’ top backup will be on game days.
“It’s a competition. They’re going to both get a fair shake at the two-job. We were both up front with both those guys telling them that’s how it’s going to work. So they’ll split reps pretty evenly. They’ll get a chance to play quite a bit in the preseason,” Callahan said. “That’s usually where it separates is the game action when you really get an evaluation, but happy with where both of those guys are at.
“Just like any competition, there’s going to be ups and downs. There’ll be days when you guys come out and one looks better than the other, and the evaluation is a totality of all their time in the offseason and training camp and the preseason games. And so, it’s an ongoing evaluation and there’s going to be ebbs and flows and guys will look good one day and not as good as the other. And so, you’re trying to get their totality of work as to who’s best equipped to be the number two.”
