Caleb Farley‘s time in Tennessee did not go as planned, but he has lined up a new NFL opportunity. The former first-round corner is signing with the Panthers, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
Schultz notes, to little surprise, this will be a practice squad agreement. Farley is expected to soon find himself on Carolina’s active roster, though, as he seeks to post a healthy stretch and rebuild his value. The 25-year-old struggled with a multitude of injuries during his college and NFL careers, including a pair of ACL tears and three back surgeries. The Titans made a predictable move in declining his 2025 fifth-year option, but they also waived him ahead of roster cutdowns.
That move was followed by a Patriots workout, although no deal materialized. Farley visited the Panthers shortly before this agreement, as noted by KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The Virginia Tech product missed the entire 2023 season after playing only 12 total games across his first two seasons in the league. He was held without an interception, and his coverage statistics left plenty of room for improvement. Carolina could offer Farley a chance to put together a string of healthy games played while developing into at least a depth contributor in the secondary.
Tennessee took on a $4.29MM dead money charge by moving on from Farley in the offseason. This Panthers deal will no doubt check in at a lesser cost, which will be necessary given the team’s financial situation. Carolina entered Tuesday with only $571K in cap space, the lowest figure in the league. This flier carries a degree of upside for the 1-3 outfit, though.
In other roster moves, the Panthers signed Chandler Wooten from the practice squad to the active roster. The former UDFA has 17 appearances to his name, all with Carolina. Wooten will look to help fill the void created by fellow linebacker Shaq Thompson‘s Achilles tear. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields was waived from the 53-man roster, and he could be retained on the practice squad if he clears.
Who the heck is Carolina paying that they are up against the cap????
EDIT: This is what happens when you build a team through Free Agency…