Bills shore up secondary by acquiring safety Amani Hooker in trade with Titans for 2nd-round pick

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills shored up their secondary by acquiring safety Amani Hooker in a trade that sent the Tennessee Titans a second-round pick on Tuesday.

The deal was reached about two hours before the NFL’s deadline struck, and a day after the AFC-leading Bills improved to 7-1 with a 23-6 win at Minnesota. Buffalo also acquired the Titans fifth-round pick as part of the deal, the Bills announced.

Hooker is in his eighth NFL season with Tennessee and been a starter since 2021. He already has a career-high-matching five interceptions this season, and is tied for the NFL lead with Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney.

The move improves a Bills defense that has struggled for much of the season, with the secondary singled out as being the weak spot. Buffalo’s depth at the position was further depleted last week after the team cut season-opening starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson because of his poor play and after he completed a one-game NFL suspension for spitting.

Hooker will be in line to take over the starting spot opposite Cole Bishop. Veteran backup Damar Hamlin started the past two games. And Hooker represents a potential long-term solution for Buffalo in having two more years remaining on his contract beyond this season.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane revealed he had to restructure left tackle Dion Dawkins’ contract in order to fit Hooker’s contract under the salary cap. After first approaching the Titans last week, Beane said he wasn’t expecting the trade to materialize until discussions perked up Tuesday afternoon.

“I felt like there a good opportunity I was walking in here today, and I was going to make sure you guys put your guns and knives away,” Beane said with a laugh, referring to the prospect of facing reporters’ questions of why he didn’t make a trade. “Fortunately today, we were excited about this deal and were able to get it to the finish line.”

Tennessee, meantime, is in a rebuilding phase coming out of its bye week at 1-7 and sitting last in the AFC South. Hooker is the second defensive starter traded by Tennessee after the team dealt defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to Chicago two weeks ago.

Beane foresees Hooker being a natural fit, and compared his style of play to that of former longtime Bills safety Micah Hyde.

“He’s been a very steady player. We really liked him coming out,” he said, referring to Hooker being selected by Tennessee in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. “We’ll just have to see how it goes, how quickly we get him in here and get him up to speed. But I know his DNA from everything that I’ve been told and we’ll hopefully get him going as quick as we can.”

Buffalo returns to practice on Wednesday, and play at the New York Jets (2-7) on Sunday.

The Bills defense was porous in opening this season by allowing an average of 28.5 points and 387 yards through its first six games. This was in part a reflection of a unit in transition with Jim Leonhard taking over as coordinator and making the switch to a 3-4 system.

The production has improved following Buffalo’s bye week, with the defense limiting its past two opponents to a combined 16 points and 322 yards.

Part of that is a reflection of the Bills playing a Ravens team that was down to its third-string quarterback and a Vikings opponent with backup Carson Wentz behind center.

Hooker has 17 interceptions and is credited with 45 passes defensed in 103 games, including 74 starts.

Three of his interceptions this season came in what is now his last outing with Tennessee, a 43-36 overtime loss to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 1.

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AP freelance writer Teresa M. Walker contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

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