One of the bigger takeaways from the Tennessee Titans’ Week 1 snap counts was the amount of playing time 2021 first-round pick and cornerback Caleb Farley saw.
While we knew Farley wasn’t a starter after losing out to rookie Roger McCreary this offseason, we figured he’d have a bigger role than he did against the New York Giants.
During the preseason we saw the Titans shift McCreary to the inside in sub-packages, which left an outside spot for Farley to be inserted. However, Tennessee switched things up in Week 1.
The Titans deployed Ugo Amadi in sub-packages instead, with head coach Mike Vrabel saying the reason was the team didn’t want to keep moving McCreary inside and out. That led to Farley seeing just 17 snaps.
Right now, Farley appears to be a man without a role, which is an incredibly disappointing turn of events. Despite that fact, Farley is remaining positive.
“I just do whatever they ask me to do to the best of my ability,” Farley said, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “I feel like if I take care of that, I try and earn a bigger role and everything should take care of itself.
“I am definitely motivated and ready to show it on Monday. I am ready to go out there and have a good game and go out there to compete.”
Farley may have a huge opportunity on Monday night against a Buffalo Bills passing attack that is arguably the best in the NFL.
Tennessee’s top corner, Kristian Fulton, has yet to practice this week because of a hamstring injury, leaving his status in doubt for Week 2. Farley would step in to a starting role if Fulton can’t go.
If Fulton sits this one out it would be the same situation we saw in the Titans-Bills Week 6 game in 2021, which also took place on a Monday night: Fulton was hurt and Farley was pushed into a starting role.
However, Farley’s new role was short-lived, as he suffered a torn ACL in the contest against the Bills, ending his season early. The parallels between last year’s meeting and this one aren’t lost on the second-year pro.
“I am excited just to go out there and get a second shot at it,” Farley said. “This game last year was the game I got injured, on a Monday night, as ironic as that is. So I am just excited to be able to get back out there and get another shot at it.
“(A year later) I feel good, I am confident. And I am just ready to go out there and cut it loose and play and make plays to help us get this win.”
