Titans offseason preview at safety: Pending free agents, biggest needs

In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the safety position.

The Tennessee Titans transitioned to somewhat of a new era at the safety position last season after parting ways with a long-time starter.

Tennessee traded Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Terrell Edmunds and two picks in the 2024 NFL draft, one in the fifth and one in the sixth.

At the time, the trade didn’t look all that great, but it looks a whole hell of a lot better after Byard struggled during his 11-game stint with the Eagles, which has led to him being named a cut candidate in 2024.

The reason I said “somewhat of a new era” at safety is because the Titans still had Byard’s running mate, Amani Hooker, who had a solid season but failed to stay healthy for the entire campaign once again.

Tennessee deployed a combination of K’Von Wallace and Elijah Molden in Byard’s stead. Molden was OK in his first season at the position and Wallace was better than expected after being claimed off waivers.

In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the pending free agents, those under contract and what Tennessee’s biggest needs are at the position going into the 2024 offseason.

All contract information courtesy of Over the Cap.

Titans’ biggest cut candidates for 2024 offseason

A look at some potential cap casualties for the Titans in 2024.

The Tennessee Titans enter the 2024 offseason flush with cap space, but they will have an opportunity to clear more money if they decide to cut some players from last year’s team.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans are sitting with $68.1 million in cap space, the second-most in the NFL behind only the Washington Commanders.

That’s a far cry from last year, when the Titans were strapped for cash, even after cutting some players. That also forced Tennessee to bet on upside with some of their free-agent signings.

But things are very different this year with the Titans having a ton of money to spend. And, as a result, their need to cut players isn’t as dire as it was last year, although the team still figures to part ways with at least a few players.

Here’s a look at the Titans’ biggest cut candidates for the 2024 offseason, and we’ve included a prediction for what will happen with each.

Titans place Amani Hooker on IR, promote Marlon Davidson

The Titans have placed starting safety Amani Hooker on injured reserve, ending his 2023 season.

The Tennessee Titans made a pair of roster moves on Friday, one of which included the placement of safety Amani Hooker on injured reserve. Hooker popped up on the injury report with a knee issue earlier in the week.

Thanks to the minimum four-week stay, Hooker will now miss the remainder of the campaign. Taking his spot on the roster is defensive lineman Marlon Davidson, who was promoted from the practice squad.

Going into 2023, the main concern with Hooker was his inability to stay on the field after he played in just 21 games combined the two seasons prior.

Hooker was able to stay healthy and play in 13 of the first 14, but this will be the third straight season in which he hasn’t played in a full campaign. He last did that in his first two seasons in the NFL.

When he was on the field, Hooker, who signed a three-year, $30 million extension in 2022, played fairly well and was one of the few sources of turnovers for Tennessee.

Hooker has two more years left on his deal after this one but also has outs in his contract if the Titans want to go that route.

He can be cut for just a $5 million dead-cap hit ($4.4 million savings) in 2024 and a $2.5 million dead-cap hit ($8.14 million savings) in 2025.

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Titans’ Amani Hooker fined for Week 14 infraction vs. Dolphins

Titans S Amani Hooker was fined a hefty sum for a hit on Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle in Week 14.

Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker is once again a little lighter in the wallet after he was fined for a hit on Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in Week 14.

The play in question came in the first quarter when Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a pass over the middle to Waddle, who was met by Hooker, leading to a big hit.

While the hit wasn’t flagged at the time, the league has deemed it as illegal, which will now cost the Titans safety $21,855.

This is the second week in a row in which Hooker has been hit with a fine. He was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 13 after he did a throat slash gesture against the Indianapolis Colts. That cost him $13,659.

While he’s lost some money recently, Hooker is in the midst of a fantastic season for Tennessee overall and has been worth every penny of the three-year, $30 million extension he signed last year.

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2 Titans hit with fines for Week 13 infractions

Two Titans players were fined for infractions against the Colts in Week 13.

Two Tennessee Titans players received fines for infractions during the Week 13 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Safety Amani Hooker was hit with the biggest fine, losing $13,659 for an unsportsmanlike conduct stemming from a throat slash gesture he did following his pick-two.

On a side note: Hooker’s interception that resulted in a defensive two-point conversion was actually the first in franchise history.

Fellow safety K’Von Wallace is also a little lighter in the wallet, with the veteran defender being fined $5,611 for unsportsmanlike conduct after he taunted the Colts’ sideline, which was flagged during the game.

It was thought Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman might face a fine after he launched the football into the stands following his game-winning touchdown catch, which is something we saw former Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown get fined for in the past. However, Pittman escaped without one.

The Titans will return to the field when they take on the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night.

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Watch: Titans’ Amani Hooker gets rare pick-two vs. Colts

Titans safety Amani Hooker returned an interception the distance on a two-point conversion attempt by the Colts.

Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker pulled off a rare feat during the Week 13 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

After returning a blocked punt for a touchdown in the third quarter, the Colts attempted a two-point conversion to try and put themselves up seven points.

However, Hooker had other plans, as he picked off a pass from Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew and promptly returned it the length of the field to give the Titans two points.

Obviously, the points in and of themselves were big, but the score also cut Indy’s lead over Tennessee to three points. Check out the rare play below.

Titans with the rare pick-two against Colts

Amani Hooker intercepted a two-point conversion attempt and turned it into Titans points

The Indianapolis Colts had moved ahead of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in the final minute of the third quarter when Grant Stuard recovered a blocked punt for a TD.

Up 22-17, the analytics said to go for two.

So, Indy did just that and wound up with a three-point lead.

Why? Because Amani Hooker picked off the Gardner Minshew pass on the two-point conversion attempt and returned it for the score.

The infrequent two-point score.

Titans injury updates: Peter Skoronski, Kristian Fulton, Amani Hooker

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel provided good news on Kristian Fulton and Amani Hooker, but not Peter Skoronski.

The Tennessee Titans were without three starters in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel provided updates for the trio.

Left guard Peter Skoronski missed the Week 2 game after undergoing an appendectomy that can sideline a player anywhere from one to four weeks depending on what type.

The secondary was without two players in cornerback Kristian Fulton and safety Amani Hooker, who were dealing with a hamstring injury and a concussion, respectively.

We received good news from Vrabel on Fulton and Hooker, both of whom are expected to practice on Wednesday. Hooker has yet to fully clear the concussion protocol, though.

Meanwhile, it was the opposite for Skoronski, as Vrabel revealed he is unlikely to play in Week 3 as he continues to recover from the procedure.

Xavier Newman got the start in Skoronski’s place in Week 2, but he was pulled for Dillon Radunz after struggling mightily early on. Radunz went on to allow three pressures but no sacks. He figures to get the nod in Week 3.

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Titans’ safety duo adds impressive notch to its belt

Amani Hooker’s Week 1 interception put the Titans’ safety duo in an exclusive club.

Tennessee Titans safeties Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker are in an exclusive club since the start of 2020 when it comes to nabbing interceptions.

Over that span, Byard leads the team with 10 picks, while Hooker ranks second with seven. As a result, the Titans are one of two teams in the NFL to see two of their safeties record at least seven interceptions since 2020.

The other pair is Buffalo Bills safeties Jordan Poyer (11) and Taylor Rapp, but bear in mind Rapp just joined the Bills in free agency this year. Buffalo’s other starter, Micah Hyde, has notched six interceptions since 2020.

The Titans duo joined this exclusive club last Sunday when Hooker recorded his first interception of 2023 against the New Orleans Saints.

Hooker was also just the sixth NFL player over a five-year span (2019-2023) to record an interception, a forced fumble (defense or special teams) and a fumble recovery (defense or special teams) in the same game.

Sadly, the Iowa product, who has been plagued by injuries in general during his career, left the game prematurely due to suffering his second concussion in two years. For both the team’s and his personal sake, let’s hope Hooker’s concussion issues cease to exist after this latest one.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying that a healthy Byard and Hooker defending the backend of Tennessee’s secondary makes the entire defense better.

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Titans vs. Chargers Week 2 injury report: Thursday

Treylon Burks returned to practice on Thursday but Amani Hooker and DeAndre Hopkins remained out.

The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers have released their second injury reports of the week ahead of their Week 2 matchup on Sunday.

For the Titans, wide receiver Treylon Burks returned to practice after missing yesterday’s session with a personal matter. Unfortunately, safety Amani Hooker and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins remained sidelined.

Cornerback Kristian Fulton and defensive lineman Teair Tart saw no change in their respective participation levels, while running back Tyjae Spears was upgraded to a full session.

For the Chargers, edge rusher Joey Bosa and running back Austin Ekeler were both absent from practice once again.

Now, a look at Tennessee’s full report from Thursday.