NASHVILLE – Caleb Farley is the first to admit that he could have been better.
The first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft got his first taste of game action in nearly two years Saturday when the Tennessee Titans defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3 in a preseason contest.
Although his playing time was limited, it was a significant step. After all, the cornerback out of Virginia Tech waited through 21 picks to hear his name called in the draft, started his first professional training camp on the Non-Football Injury list and was held out of his team’s preseason opener because of concerns about a pair of back surgeries, the second of which took place earlier this month.
“I was sloppy,” Farley said Monday. “I wasn’t sharp. But I think getting back in it … and getting back comfortable, trusting my ability. That’s the biggest thing for me now is to settle down and realize it’s just football.”
Before Saturday, the last time Farley played a game of any kind was Nov. 23, 2019 – a span of 637 days. That day he had one tackle and one pass defensed for Virginia Tech in a 28-0 victory over Pittsburgh.
He opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns related to COVID-19 and so he could focus on his preparation for the draft. Things did not go as planned because the first procedure on his back did not produce the desired results, which led to the second. As a result, a player many considered a top 10 talent fell to the Titans at No. 22 due to concerns about his health and durability.
Tennessee has been cautious with him over the past several months and ultimately did not allow him to take part in football activities until nearly a week into training camp. The long layoff and limited practice time undoubtedly contributed to whatever imperfections Farley experienced against the Buccaneers.
“I think it is with any player, they are all antsy to get back, and as soon as they get back on the field they want it to click right away,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “They want to be at their maximum, and the game doesn’t work that way. It takes time, it is a technical game.
“You can’t just get by on ability. Everybody has ability at this level, everybody. So, the techniques and the fundamentals, you have to have them to be able to compete and play at a high level.”
Against the Buccaneers, Farley was on the field for 16 plays on defense, one on special teams and did not show up anywhere else on the stat sheet. But he was out there.
By comparison, Elijah Molden, a third-round pick out of Washington, played three-times as many snaps with the defense and was one of the standout performers in the contest. Two other cornerbacks also got much more work than Farley did.
Saturday’s preseason finale against the Chicago Bears at Nissan Stadium is likely to be more of the same.
“He is on a pitch count, so he is working his way back,” Bowen said. “We just have to keep working him. I think he is learning something every single day. … It is just going to be repetition, building those good habits with technique and fundamentals. That is really what it is, making them more habits. You can’t just go out there and do it when you haven’t done it in a long time.”
And regardless of whether he could have been better, or how much better he could have been, the fact that he had not played football in so long made it a memorable night.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Farley said. “I just felt very, very ecstatic and warm inside. I had a big smile on my face just seeing everybody make plays and hearing teammates cheer for each other.
“The brotherhood of football is something I haven’t been a part of for a while. It was just a great blessing to be out there.”
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