-
David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterNov 18, 2024, 09:04 AM ET
- David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are signing 2021 first-round pick Caleb Farley to their 53-man roster, the cornerback’s agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Farley, 26, was signed to Carolina’s practice squad on October 1 to begin rebuilding a career that was sidelined by an ACL injury during his rookie season with the Tennessee Titans and a disc injury that required surgery in 2022.
Editor’s Picks
The 22nd pick of the 2021 draft has been elevated to the 53-man roster the past three games. He played a season-high 23 snaps in a 20-17 victory over the New York Giants in Munich, Germany before the team’s bye week.
The Panthers (3-7) were out of practice squad elevations, so the move based on the way Farley has played and what others have been saying about him, making it an anticipated step.
“You could see why he was drafted in the first round, the athleticism that he showed, the way he can flip his hips, change directions, the way he transitions, the way he can run,” general manager Dan Morgan recently said of Farley’s workout. “He was really impressive.
“He’s had a lot of bad luck. I hope he’s happy here.”
Farley was a high school phenom at quarterback at Maiden High about an hour from Charlotte. He moved into his childhood home in Hickory, North Carolina, after joining the Panthers and makes the hour commute to work.
He says living there makes him feel closer to his parents. His mom passed from breast cancer in 2018 and his father was killed in a gas leak explosion in Farley’s Mooresville, North Carolina, home in 2023.
“My brother had a townhouse in Belmont, which is a closer drive,” Farley recently told ESPN.com as he described his daily commute that has become therapeutic. “But I mean, as you can see, there’s so much work to be done here. . . . It just feels nice to be back here. I’m comfortable here.”
