My Two Cents: Tough Day for Titans Safety Amani Hooker With Kevin Byard Gone

NASHVILLE — From the very first day that safety Amani Hooker walked into the Tennessee Titans' complex back in 2019, Kevin Byard has been there right alongside him. To Hooker, Byard has been much more than a teammate. He's been big brother, mentor, occasional psychiatrist and a friend to lean on in good times and in bad.

That all stopped on Tuesday.

Byard, a popular and well-respected safety and team captain, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in the first step of what likely will be a massive Titans rebuild. Tennessee got a fifth- and sixth-round pick in 2024, plus safety Terrell Edmunds

Hooker came back to work after the bye week, and Byard wasn't there. They've been together for five years and now — just like that — it's over. In the blink of an eye, five years together is now in the rear-view mirror  

"Obviously it sucks losing a guy like that, a leader on this team, not just on the defense, on this team," Hooker said. "I’m sure there are concerns, and no one is feeling good right now. But talking with guys today, guys are ready to get to work. Guys are prepared to go out here and get a win versus Atlanta. No matter what happens, we’re going to come to work and show up."

Byard is a two-time All-Pro and one of the all-time Titans favorites. But he's also 30 years old and on the downside of his career. He's still owed a lot of money — $14 million next year — and the Titans feel like there are better ways to spend that money as they retool their roster.

That's all good and well down the road, but it didn't make walking into the facility any easier on Tuesday.

"He's been a guy I've admired when I first came into the league,'' said Hooker, a former Iowa star. "I looked up to him ever since I've been here, just how he carried himself on and off the field and in the community. It definitely hurts losing him, but we've got a job to do. 

"He taught me to be a professional in everything you do, even through the ups and downs, being a pro. Now matter how bad things get, you keep the vision the vision and the main thing the main thing. He helped me out with a lot of other things as well.''

Hooker is the elder statesman in the safeties room now. This is his fifth year, and Byard has taught him a lot. Now it's his turn to pass that knowledge along. I asked him if he felt like there was a passing of the baton with Byard flying north. She shook his head yes.

"Yeah, I see that. I feel like I'm a guy that's been here with Vrabel for five years now,'' Hooker said. "I'm the guy who's been here the longest in that room, and I need to be a leader now and step up and fill that role, along with other guys as well.

"I'll be more vocal. KB''s always been that. He's always been a guy you can count on, can trust. I don't think he's ever missed a game since I've been here. That's something I can bring to the table as well.''

The Titans are 2-4 and are back in action on Sunday when they take on the Atlanta Falcons at Nissan Stadium. They are 2-0 at home, and Hooker — as a true professional — knows they still have a job to do, with or without Byard.

They need to win a football game on Sunday, and then take it from there.

"I think the best thing we can do is have good communication and understand what the game plan is,'' Hooker said when asked about what's most important moving forward. "This is the first time we've game-planned without KB, but we've got a lot of smart guys in that room and we'll be ready.

"We were 2-4 before and we went to the AFC championship. We had people writing us off then, and people are writing us off now. We're going to keep grinding away at it. We're professional athletes and we're competitors. We're not going to back away from a challenge. Every week, the season is on the line. This week is no different. We have to look at this like it's the game of the year.''

Titans coach Mike Vrabel fielded a lot of questions about Byard on Tuesday as well. Byard was here when Vrabel arrived six years, and he talked a lot about how Byard helped spread his message in the locker room.

They're friendship is personal, but it's also a business. Vrabel gets that. It's still not easy.

"We’re not going to sit there and think that we’re going to replace Kevin Byard today when we go down there, and that’s nobody’s intention," Vrabel said. "We made a decision that we understand will be clearly second-guessed. These things aren’t easy. We’re trying to look at what draft capital we have and try to come up with a solution for it."

Losing Byard makes winning a little tougher on Sunday, But that would have been the same thing if he missed a few weeks with, say, an ankle injury. That's what the deal is with veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who probably won't play this weekend with an ankle injury of his own.

Hooker will miss Byard, without a doubt. But he's also a pro, and he knows this one NFL fact better than most.

Life does indeed go on. Because that's the business they've chosen.

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