Caden Sterns Bio
Caden Sterns is an American former professional football player who played as a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was born on November 2, 1999, in Dallas, Texas, and built a reputation as a versatile defensive back during his college years at the University of Texas. After being selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, he spent parts of four seasons with three organizations before stepping away from the game. Sterns announced his retirement in October 2025, citing the toll of injuries sustained over the course of his career.
Across his NFL tenure, Sterns appeared in the regular season for the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles. Although his professional career was shortened by injuries, his rookie production and earlier college honors marked him as a talented defender coming out of the Big 12 Conference.
Early Life and Background
Caden Sterns was born and raised in Texas, growing up in a household with deep ties to football. He attended Byron P. Steele II High School in Cibolo, Texas, where he quickly established himself as one of the top defensive prospects in the state. His older brother, Jordan Sterns, was a star two-way player in high school between 2010 and 2013 and later played safety at Oklahoma State University, giving Caden an early model of what a college football career could look like.
At Steele High School, Sterns piled up 235 tackles and 11 interceptions across his career, numbers that reflected both his ball skills and his physicality in the secondary. His senior-year performance earned him a selection to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he took home the Pete Dawkins Trophy as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Rated as a five-star recruit, Sterns originally committed to Louisiana State University before flipping his pledge to the University of Texas at Austin.
Path to American Football
Sterns’s road to the NFL began with one of the most decorated true freshman seasons in Texas Longhorns history. Enrolling in 2018, he stepped into the defensive backfield as a starter and never relinquished the role, appearing in all 13 games that year. His play earned him Big 12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year honors, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, and Freshman All-American recognition.
In his freshman campaign, Sterns recorded 62 tackles, four interceptions, and one sack, showcasing the range that scouts had projected when he was a top recruit. As a sophomore in 2019, he played in nine games and finished with 59 tackles and one sack, reinforcing his value as a reliable presence in the secondary. On November 30, 2020, after weighing his professional options, Sterns declared for the 2021 NFL Draft and opted out of the remainder of the college season.
Caden Sterns Career
Early Career (2018–2020, Texas Longhorns)
Sterns joined the Texas Longhorns in 2018 as one of the most hyped defensive backs in the program and delivered on that billing right away. He started every game of his true freshman season, patrolling the secondary with the kind of physicality and instincts that made him an immediate contributor. By the end of the year, his tackle and interception totals placed him among the conference’s most impactful newcomers.
His sophomore season in 2019 was more limited, with Sterns appearing in nine games and producing 59 tackles and one sack. Even with that smaller sample, he remained a key piece of the Longhorns’ defense. After the 2020 season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sterns elected to bypass his remaining eligibility and turn professional, leaving Austin as one of the most acclaimed defensive backs in recent Texas history.
Denver Broncos Breakthrough (2021–2023)
Sterns was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round, 152nd overall, of the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his rookie contract on May 11, 2021, and quickly worked his way into the defensive rotation. When cornerback Ronald Darby went down with an injury, Sterns stepped into a larger role and produced an immediate highlight, becoming the first rookie since 2016 to record two sacks in a single game in Week 3. In that same contest, he also broke up a 44-yard pass, demonstrating the versatility that defined his early NFL profile.
Across his 2021 rookie season, Sterns played in 15 games with two starts, finishing with 28 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hits, two interceptions (including a career-long 46-yard pick), and five pass deflections. His 2022 campaign, however, was cut short when he suffered a hip injury and was placed on injured reserve on October 28, 2022. In five games with three starts that year, he still managed two interceptions in a single game, four pass deflections, and 21 tackles. His 2023 season ended after just five downs, as he tore his patellar tendon in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve on September 13, 2023.
Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles Era (2024)
After being activated off the physically unable to perform list in July 2024, Sterns was released by the Broncos on August 5, 2024, after failing to draw a trade offer. The very next day, he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers, but his stay lasted only two days before he was released following a failed physical. On August 11, 2024, Sterns signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, beginning a turbulent stretch on the practice squad that saw him released and re-signed multiple times throughout August and September.
Despite the constant churn, Sterns remained in the Eagles organization through the practice squad and continued to work toward a return to the active roster. He was released again on October 10, 2024, and on October 16, 2025, he announced his retirement from professional football, citing the injuries he had endured throughout his career.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the defining moments of Sterns’s career was his 2018 freshman All-American selection at Texas and his record-tying two-sack performance as a Broncos rookie in 2021. His career-long 46-yard interception that same season underscored his ability to impact the game on the ball, while his two-interception game in 2022 showed he could produce even in a shortened campaign.
Caden Sterns Career Wins
While Sterns’s stat line was more defined by tackles, interceptions, and pass breakups than by traditional win totals, his resume features several signature performances across college and the NFL. He earned Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, first-team All-Big 12, and Freshman All-American honors in 2018, along with the Pete Dawkins Trophy at the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
NFL Highlights
In the NFL, Sterns’s highlights include his Week 3 two-sack game as a Broncos rookie, a two-interception performance in 2022, and his debut interception return of 46 yards in 2021. Across his Denver tenure, he finished with 49 total tackles, two sacks, nine pass deflections, and four interceptions in limited action, numbers that hint at the impact he might have produced with a healthier run of seasons.
Caden Sterns Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Football runs deep in the Sterns household. Caden has three brothers who have all played the sport at the collegiate level. His oldest brother, Jordan Sterns, played safety at Oklahoma State from 2013 to 2016, while his younger brothers Josh and Jerreth both play wide receiver at the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Jerreth Sterns, who previously played at Houston Baptist University and transferred to Western Kentucky for his senior year alongside quarterback Bailey Zappe, currently plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Personal Life
Caden Sterns grew up in Texas and built much of his early football identity alongside his siblings, with brother Jordan serving as a trailblazer for the family’s path into college football. Beyond his close family ties, Sterns has kept most of his personal life private, and details about a spouse or children have not been publicly disclosed.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 calendar year marked the closing chapter of Caden Sterns’s professional football career. After a 2024 season spent bouncing between practice squad opportunities with the Philadelphia Eagles, he remained unsigned through the early months of 2025. On October 16, 2025, Sterns announced his retirement from the NFL, pointing to the cumulative effect of injuries sustained throughout his career, including the torn patellar tendon that ended his 2023 season and the hip injury that limited him in 2022.
Although he did not appear in any regular-season or preseason games in 2025, Sterns spent the year weighing his football future against the long-term health considerations that come with repeated injuries. His decision to step away at age 25 closed a brief but eventful career that spanned three NFL organizations and included one of the most decorated true freshman seasons in Texas Longhorns history.