The Buffalo Bills have had an excellent start to the 2026 regular season and are hoping to keep it going against the New York Jets in Week 10. The Bills didn't make any big splashes at the trade deadline, but they did swing a trade for Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker.
Safety was a massive need, and while it sounded like they really wanted Arizona Cardinals All-Pro Budda Baker, Hooker isn't a bad consolation prize. He's tied for the NFL lead with five interceptions and has played in 103 games in his career. However, he's been with the team for less than a week, which has raised questions about whether or not he'd play against the Jets.
He previously insisted that he was going to play, but it wasn't confirmed until head coach Joe Brady made it clear that Hooker would make his Bills debut in Week 10, per Jonathan Acosta of WGRZ. It's a quick turnaround, but it's the right call by the Bills.
Why playing Amani Hooker is the correct call for Bills
Hooker has an injury history, so there's an argument that it wouldn't be the worst idea to bring him along slowly. However, the Bills didn't just give up a second-round pick for an untested player.
Hooker is healthy now, and the Jets are going to be one of the easier games on the Bills' schedule. They are 2-7 right now and aren't a big threat on offense. With that in mind, the Bills can give Hooker some limited snaps to get used to the system without having to rely on him heavily.
They can then ramp him up a bit more next week against the Miami Dolphins. The Bills then play the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving night, and they are going to need Hooker to play a huge role in that game. The team doesn't want that to be the first game that he really gets his feet wet in the system. By the time that game comes around, he should have enough experience to be comfortable in the defense.
Hooker likely won't play a ton of snaps against the Jets, but this will be a great start to integrating him.
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