The Buffalo Bills went out and got the secondary help they needed, cutting a deal for Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl safety Amani Hooker just hours before the NFL trade deadline.
“Trade! The Titans are sending standout safety Amani Hooker to the Bills,” The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero wrote on X. “A big swing by Buffalo to shore up the defense, while Tennessee keeps amassing draft capital.”
“The Titans are trading S Amani Hooker to the Bills, with a 2nd round pick going and a 5th rounder coming back, sources say,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account.
“The Bills have been searching for an impact safety, and also defensive tackle,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on his official X account. “Hooker has five interceptions on the year.”
The Bills recently released one of their starting safeties in Super Bowl champion C.J. Gardner-Johnson, cutting CJGJ after he served a 1-game suspension for spitting on Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
“Amani Hooker has spent all eight NFL seasons in Tennessee and has 17 career INTs, including five this season,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X. “Three of those came in his last game against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.”
Bills Pushed to Make Trade for Amani Hooker
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox laid out a path for the Bills to get Hooker on October 28 — although Knox thought he would only be worth a 2027 4th-round pick.
“The Titans should be interested in putting more pieces around second-year quarterback Cam Ward, and they may want to trade away some defensive pieces before November 10 to help do it,” Knox wrote on October 28. “Safety Amani Hooker would be a prime candidate in that scenario. While Hooker is signed through 2028, he may not be cemented in Tennessee’s long-term plans. He’s set to carry a cap hit of $13.2 million in 2027, and releasing him in the spring would save $7.4 million in cap space. Hooker has been a solid starter for the Titans and is still only 28 years old. He’s allowed an opposing passer rating of just 81.2 in coverage this season, and he would undoubtedly draw interest from teams in need of secondary help.”
From Big Ten Star to Fourth-Round Pick
Hooker, 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, was a 4th-round pick (No. 116 overall) by the Titans in the 2019 NFL Draft after earning All-American honors and being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at Iowa in 2018.
Hooker had 4 interceptions in 2020 as a backup and became a full-time starter in 2021 — a role he’s held ever since.
He’s also cashed in twice on big-money deals in his career — a 3-year, $30 million contract extension in 2022 and a 3-year, $40.5 million contract extension in 2025. Hooker will have approximately $76.1 million in career earnings when his current deal runs out following the 2028 season.
TRADE ALERT: Buffalo Bills Pull Off Blockbuster Trade for $76 Million Safety