Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane got his man at the trade deadline. But it took a week of hearing “no” before he did.
Buffalo sent a 2027 second-round pick to the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday for safety Amani Hooker and a 2027 fifth-rounder. Buffalo is getting a 28-year-old whose five interceptions are tied for the NFL lead.
On Wednesday, Titans GM Mike Borgonzi revealed just how close the deal came to falling apart. And it turns out Tennessee had no plans to move Hooker at all.
Titans Initially Turned Down Bills’ Amani Hooker Calls
Borgonzi didn’t sugarcoat how the talks started when he met with reporters.
“We had some calls on him,” Borgonzi said. “Brandon Beane from Buffalo would call me for the last week on it and I said no at the time. Ran into him at the Notre Dame-Miami game the other night, said he’d stay in touch and it came together pretty fast.”
Borgonzi said he wasn’t looking to trade Hooker. However, like the Titans’ recent trade of defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, the Bills made an offer he couldn’t turn down.
Tennessee had already shipped Simmons to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks a few days before Beane first called.
“They were on their bye and then we talked a couple times and they weren’t ready to do anything,” Beane said.
The chance meeting in South Bend didn’t produce much either, according to Beane.
“We didn’t really talk much about it,” he said. “There were a lot of people around, pleasantries, but we texted again yesterday and just said, ‘We’ll stay in touch.’”
Borgonzi also made it clear that letting Hooker go wasn’t easy.
“I want to thank Amani though,” he continued. “I’ve been around him now for a year-and-a-half, obviously his play but his professionalism, the way he came to work every day, in the community. He represented a lot of great things for this organization, so certainly it was tough to move on from Amani, but I wish him the best in Buffalo and it’s a good opportunity for him.”
How the Bills Finally Landed Amani Hooker
Things truly picked up on deadline day when Beane had a lengthy conversation with Titans assistant GM Dave Ziegler, according to ESPN.
Even then, Beane wasn’t optimistic.
“If you asked me at 12 noon, I didn’t feel great that we were going to be doing anything,” Beane said. “But we had conversations going. This one picked up sometime after 1 p.m. and got it to the finish line.”
Both GMs needed sign-off from ownership: Terry Pegula for the Bills and Amy Adams Strunk for the Titans. Buffalo also had to restructure left tackle Dion Dawkins’ contract to make the money work.
It’s easy to understand why Beane was so persistent. The 7-1 Bills entered Monday’s 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings with the NFL’s 30th-ranked passing defense. Hooker has 52 tackles and six passes defensed to go with his five picks this season. He’s also under contract through 2028, so he isn’t just a rental.
Beane even compared his new safety to a Bills fan favorite.
“You’re going to think I’m describing Micah Hyde,” Beane said.
Titans GM Says Bills-Amani Hooker Trade Almost Didn’t Happen