The Bills are bringing in some help for their secondary.
Buffalo has agreed to acquire veteran safety Amani Hooker from Tennessee.
Tom Pelissero of Netflix was first to report the trade. Multiple reporters note Buffalo will send Tennessee a second-round pick in exchange for Hooker and a fifth-round pick.
Hooker, 28, currently leads the league with five interceptions in 2026. He’s also recorded 52 total tackles with one tackle for loss.
A fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, Hooker has appeared in 103 games with 74 starts. He’s tallied 17 career interceptions with 45 passes defensed and five forced fumbles.
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In recent days (including today), reports have emerged that certain players will not be traded. That definitely does not mean they’re untradeable.
It means only that the team has yet to get an offer it will accept. The mere process of working the insiders to send that message could give the process one final goosing.
Regardless, not many players are truly untradeable. For all but a handful of players, there’s an offer that his current team would accept.
The only players who currently wouldn’t be traded, in our view, are Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Packers quarterback Jordan Love, and probably 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Any other can be had, at the right offer (up to and including three first-round picks plus more). By now, teams know whether the right offer will be made. Which makes it easy for them to throw out their chests and say the player won’t be traded.
And to reverse course if an offer they can’t refuse is made before 4:00 p.m. ET today.
The Minnesota Vikings have played 1,064 games in the history of their franchise, which started in 1961. Before yesterday, they had never played a game in which they possessed the ball for less than 17 and a half minutes. Now they have.
The Vikings’ time of possession of 17:28 in Monday night’s 23-6 loss to the Bills was their lowest in franchise history.
The previous franchise low was 17:38, set in the NFC Championship Game after the 2000 season, when the Vikings lost to the Giants 41-0.
On Monday night, the Vikings’ offense could not stay on the field. The first quarter set the tone: They had three possessions, which were two three-and-outs and one possession on which they lost a fumble on the first play. Their longest possession of the night lasted 3:11, and on that possession they ran five plays, totaled just 10 yards, and punted.
The Vikings’ defense played well, but not so well that the Bills weren’t able to sustain some long drives, including three drives that took more than six minutes off the clock. The Bills gained 22 first downs; the Vikings gained just nine.
The Bills’ 42:32 time of possession was their second-best in franchise history, trailing only a 1989 game in which they possessed the ball for 42:53 and beat the Jets 34-3.
The Bills gave up at least 29 points in five of their first six games of the season and opponents averaged over 386 yards of offense in those contests.
Concern about those numbers was mitigated by the team’s 5-1 record, but it lingered as a reason to doubt that the Bills would be able to go the distance come the postseason. The Bills had a bye in Week 7 and the last two weeks have seen very different performances.
The Bills allowed 144 yards in a 36-10 win over the Ravens in Week 8 and they allowed 178 in Monday night’s 23-6 win over the Vikings. They recorded six sacks and six takeaways in those games and the defensive effort on Monday bought their offense time to get going after a poor start to the game.
Linebacker Greg Rousseau had a sack in each win to get to eight for the season and he said the performances show a unit that is discovering its identity.
“Last week wasn’t a fluke,” Rousseau said, via Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. “It’s what we are. It’s what we can do. We just have to keep going.”
The counter to Rousseau or anyone else feeling bullish about the Bills defense is that Joe Fagnano was at quarterback for most of the Ravens game and that Carson Wentz was running the Vikings offense. The Bills can’t control such things, of course, but they do make it harder to feel like the results were all about tweaks that had improved the defense.
General Manager Brandon Beane has a chance to bolster the group before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline and games against the Jets and Dolphins offer chances to keep building confidence over the next two weeks. Those things could help because the real tests of the Bills defense won’t come for some time.
Against a Vikings defense that has been teeing off on opposing quarterbacks this season, Bills coach Joe Brady knew he needed to lean on his running back on Monday night.
And so he did, with Bills running back James Cook getting 31 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown in a 23-6 win over the Vikings.
Cook’s 31 carries were the most any running back has had in any NFL game this season.
Cook led the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards last season, but he’s actually been even more productive so far this season. He’s averaging both more carries per game and more yards per game in 2026 than he did in 2025. Josh Allen makes the Bills’ offense go, but the Bills rely on their running back as much as any team in the NFL, and on Monday night, Cook delivered.
The boos were loud and long in Minnesota . . . and they were deserved.
The Bills wore down the Vikings, winning 23-6 to move to 7-1. The Vikings lost their second consecutive, falling to 6-2. They have not scored more than 16 points in their past three games.
The Vikings were downright inept on offense Monday night, gaining 178 yards on 46 plays, with nine first downs, three turnovers and five punts. They were 0-for-8 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
Carson Wentz was no better than Kyler Murray, and in fact, had one of the worst quarters a quarterback has ever had in the third quarter. Wentz went 0-for-4 with two interceptions in the third quarter and should have had a third pick on a pass that Terrel Bernard dropped after it hit him between the numbers.
Wentz finished 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions. Justin Jefferson caught three of 11 targets for 58 yards and was visibly frustrated.
The Vikings’ field-goal drives covered 9 and 46 yards, with Will Reichard hitting from 43 and 53 for the team’s only points.
Max Brosmer may have won the job by going 6-of-7 for 58 yards before the Vikings turned it over on downs at the Buffalo 13 on their final drive.
The Bills gained 399 yards on 79 plays, wearing down the Vikings’ defense by possessing the ball for 42:32. James Cook ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries; Josh Allen was 21-of-31 for 234 yards with one touchdown and one interception; and eight players caught at least one pass, including tight end Keleki Latu, whose first career touchdown covered 25 yards.
Tyler Bass was perfect again, making kicks from 39, 25 and 52 yards and running his streak to 24 in a row.
Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz had his foot stepped on by offensive lineman Joe Huber with 7 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Vikings were forced to call a timeout after the play clock was running down, and then Wentz again threw incomplete before heading into the sideline medical tent.
The Vikings had 34 yards in the third quarter, with Wentz going 0-for-4 with two interceptions. He should have had a third on the play his foot was stepped on, hitting linebacker Terrel Bernard in the numbers. Bernard dropped it.
Max Brosmer was warming up while Wentz was in the tent.
Wentz is only the fourth quarterback in the past 14 seasons with multiple interceptions and no completions in a quarter, via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. Wentz joins Matthew Stafford against the Vikings in 2021; Zach Wilson against the Patriots in 2021; and Marcus Mariota against the Dolphins in 2018.
The Bills lead the Vikings 20-6 with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter.
So much for Carson Wentz stealing Kyler Murray’s job. The Vikings offense looks a lot like it has most of the season.
The Vikings are struggling to gain yards and score points Monday night against the Bills, who are struggling almost as much against the Minnesota defense.
Buffalo leads 10-6 at halftime.
The Vikings’ first four drives went three plays or less. Their first field goal — a 43-yard kick by Will Reichard — came on a four-play, 9-yard drive after a Bills’ punt out of their own end zone. Reichard added a 53-yarder with 5 seconds left in the half, completing a seven-play, 46-yard drive.
Two replay decisions went the Bills’ way in the first half: 1. Carson Wentz threw a lateral to Justin Jefferson that hit the ground and was covered by Bills defensive lineman Greg Rousseau at the Minnesota 44. Joe Brady challenged the on-field ruling of an incompletion, and replay reversed it to a fumble. The Bills got a 39-yard Tyler Bass field goal out of it. 2. Josh Allen was sacked by Andrew Van Ginkel at the Buffalo 2 and fumbled. Replay, though, showed Allen’s knee was on the ground before Van Ginkel knocked the ball loose.
The Bills outgained the Vikings 143 to 86 despite three sacks of Allen, who is 13-of-20 for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Keleki Latu with 44 seconds left in the first half after rolling to his right to buy time. It was Latu’s first career touchdown.
Allen was 6-for-6 on the eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.
James Cook has 15 carries for only 33 yards.
Wentz is 7-of-17 for 75 yards, with Jefferson catching two for 39. Aaron Jones has three rushes for 10 yards.
The Bills will not have the left side of their offensive line when they play the Vikings to cap Week 9.
Both left tackle Dion Dawkins and left guard Alec Anderson are both inactive after they were both listed as questionable for the contest.
Dawkins (ribs) did not practice all week. Anderson (ankle) was listed as a limited participant on Saturday after two DNPs on Thursday and Friday.
Tylan Grable is expected to start at left tackle with Austin Corbett expected to start at left guard.
The Vikings will not have Kyler Murray (hamstring), with Carson Wentz taking over as the team’s starting quarterback. But Odell Beckham Jr. is active for the club after he was signed to the 53-man roster.
Murray, safety Jakobe Thomas, receiver Jauan Jennings, cornerback Chuck Demmings, safety Theo Jackson, and defensive lineman Caleb Banks are inactive for Minnesota.
For Buffalo, Dawkins, Anderson, receiver Skyler Bell, safety Jalon Kilgore, outside linebacker Mike Danna, and defensive tackle Greg Gaines are all inactive.
The Bills have made a few moves in advance of Monday night’s matchup with the Vikings.
Buffalo announced that the club has placed receiver Joshua Palmer on injured reserve.
He’s been sidelined by a hamstring injury and will now miss at least four games.
Palmer has registered four catches for 117 yards with two touchdowns so far in 2026. He’s been on the field for six games.
The Bills have also elevated safety Geno Stone and receiver Trent Sherfield for the matchup against the Vikings.
