Titans rallying around Caleb Farley after losing father in home explosion
Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley lost his father on Monday night when his North Carolina home was destroyed in a suspected gas-leak explosion.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and several of Farley’s teammates expressed their sympathies for Farley and his family as the former first-round pick was not at practice on Tuesday. He was in in Mooresville, N.C. with his family sifting through what was left of his $2 million home.
“What’s important is that we do everything we can to support Caleb and his family, and do everything we can to be there for him, support him,” Vrabel told reporters. “That’s the most important thing is to focus on him — everything else is pretty trivial."
“I just found out the news, praying for him, keeping him in our prayers, praying for his family,” running back Derrick Henry said, via Paul Kuharsky. “We all send our condolences. Just a tragic situation…I can’t describe the way he’s probably feeling right now. Just letting him know we’re praying for him, we love him and we’re all here for him if he needs somebody to lean on.”
A Titans spokesperson confirmed that Farley himself was not in his home at the time of the explosion, which reportedly happened around midnight on Monday. While 61-year-old Robert Farley was the only casualty, a fire services director confirmed on Tuesday morning another person was injured in the explosion, but the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Now losing both of his parents at such a young age — his mother Robin died from breast cancer in 2018 — the Titans have made sure that Farley knows they’re in his corner.
“I texted him this morning just telling him I’m thinking about him, praying for him,” Kevin Byard said, via 104.5 The Zone’s Kayla Anderson. “Caleb is a big believer; he has a lot of faith. I just kind of told him to lean into his faith as hard as he’s ever done before. I know he lost his mother at a young age as well, so he’s dealt with a lot of adversity. It’s just very tragic and the team, and as a brother, all we can do is try to be there for him.”
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