Who the Titans Are Starting in Place of Amani Hooker vs. Texans

The Tennessee Titans had a few injury scares this week. 

Starters Kevin Winston Jr., Carnell Tate, John Franklin-Myers, Gunnar Helm, Marcus Harris, Jeffery Simmons and Tony Pollard were all on the injury report ahead of Sunday's game with the Houston Texans. 

Luckily, the Titans escaped with just one player out. Carnell Tate, Joshua Williams and David Martin-Robinson were questionable. Robert Saleh said that Martin-Robinson was a toss-up for the game. 

Franklin-Myers, Harris, Helm, Simmons, Williams, Pollard, and Tate were cleared to play. Sadly, the Titans will be without Hooker for a pivotal AFC South matchup. 

Hooker has been a starter for the Titans since 2021. Losing him in a big game against the Texans is not ideal for several reasons. 

The Texans have one of the NFL's best passing offenses. They average 285.3 passing yards per game, the sixth-most in the NFL. 

The Titans also have plenty of young players in the secondary, like Harris, Winston, and Micah Robinson, who are entering their second season in the NFL. 

With Hooker out, the Titans need a backup plan. 

Saleh shared the course of action for the Texans game at Friday's presser. Tony Adams is next up, and Saleh said the Titans are likely to bring up defensive back Isaiah Oliver from the practice squad. 

"Tony Adams, right?" Saleh asked. "Yeah, he's been in our system for a while. Knows what he's doing. We'll probably bring up Isaiah Oliver from the practice squad and make that one official tomorrow. But we're very comfortable. We've been getting Tony reps in our dime package over the past couple of weeks. So, I thought he's done a really nice job. He had a really good training camp, and looking forward to seeing him play." 

For Adams, he and Saleh are very familiar with one another. 

Adams started his career with the New York Jets in 2022, when Saleh was still the head coach. Even after Saleh was fired halfway through the 2024 season, Adams stayed with the Jets for another season. 

He signed with the Titans this offseason and made the roster as a backup safety due to his familiarity with Saleh's defense. 

He has been a starter before in his career. He was one of Saleh's starting safeties from 2023-24, with 36 appearances. 

Adams started for most of the 2025 season but was limited to 12 games by a groin injury. 

Oliver joined the Titans practice squad last year and was able to do enough to make it again in 2026. Before that, he was with Arizona Cardinals, Jets, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers in a similar capacity. 

With Hooker out and Adams starting, the Titans need a backup. Oliver is the most likely candidate. Oliver may have been on the practice squad last year, but he's more than just a practice-squad player. 

Oliver has played in 110 career games with 53 starts. 

It sounds like the Titans have their plan for Sunday's game. Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS.