A meeting at Saturday’s Notre Dame-Miami game became part of the conversations that brought safety Amani Hooker from the Tennessee Titans to the Buffalo Bills.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said Buffalo counterpart Brandon Beane had pursued Hooker for roughly a week before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. Tennessee initially declined to move the veteran.
The executives crossed paths in South Bend, Indiana, before negotiations accelerated and produced an agreement.
TennesseeTitans.com’s Jim Wyatt shared Borgonzi’s explanation Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, describing how the discussions developed.
“Brandon Bean from Buffalo called me for really 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 you know it came, it came together pretty fast.”
.@Titans GM Mike Borgonzi on how the @amanihooker37 trade went down with the @BuffaloBills. pic.twitter.com/5L8ABxmS7z
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) November 11, 2026
The Bills sent their 2027 second-round pick to Tennessee in exchange for Hooker and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
Borgonzi said the Titans had not sought to trade Hooker, but accepted an offer that supported their effort to accumulate draft capital.
Beane offered additional context about the stadium encounter. He said the executives exchanged pleasantries without discussing the potential trade extensively. They stayed in contact, and negotiations picked up Tuesday afternoon.
Hooker, 28, joined Buffalo tied for the NFL lead with five interceptions. His contract runs through 2028, giving the 7-1 Bills an experienced safety for this season and beyond.
The Titans selected Hooker in the fourth round out of Iowa in 2019. The trade ended his eight-season tenure with the franchise.
The South Bend meeting preceded the agreement, which gave the Bills an experienced safety and Tennessee another early-round draft selection.