Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker met with the media on Tuesday and talked about the departure of running mate Kevin Byard, who was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 You know losing a guy like that, a leader on this team, not just the defense.
00:04 He's been a guy that I admired when I first came into the league.
00:08 I looked up to him ever since I've been here,
00:10 just as far as he carries himself on and off the field in the community.
00:14 So it definitely hurts our team losing him, but we got a job to do.
00:18 >> What's the biggest thing you took from him?
00:20 You trained a lot with him in the offseason.
00:22 What did you take from him that's maybe helped you be a better player?
00:26 >> I'll probably just say just being a professional at everything you do.
00:30 Even if through ups and downs, being a pro.
00:33 What that means is no matter how bad things get, you're always able to keep
00:38 your head on and keep the vision the vision, keep the main thing the main thing.
00:42 So he helped me out tremendously and several other things as well.
00:45 >> A little bit of a passing of the baton back there.
00:49 You feel like there's a little bit of a passing of the baton back there with him
00:52 leaving now though, too?
00:54 You gotta step over him.
00:55 >> Yeah, I feel like I'm a guy that's been here on the gray ball for
00:57 five years now.
00:58 I'm the guy that's been here the longest in the room.
01:01 So I feel like as a leader of this team, I have to step up and
01:04 fill that role along with other guys as well.
01:06 >> In what ways does that leadership need to evolve now that he's no longer there?
01:11 You have been a leader as you said, but in what ways does that maybe change now?
01:16 >> More locally, KB was a vocal leader for us.
01:19 He's always been.
01:19 He's always been able to bring the room together.
01:22 He's always been able to keep guys in a positive mindset.
01:25 So that's something that I have to bring to the table as well and
01:29 something that I've always been working on.
01:31 >> What about on the field of mind?
01:32 What's the loss there in terms of just obviously playing but
01:35 also recent communication on the things that he does for this team,
01:38 for his defense?
01:38 >> The defense, he's always been a guy that you can count on.
01:41 I don't think he's missed a game since I've been here.
01:44 So he's a guy that you can count on, a guy that you can trust.
01:47 That's all you look for when you're out there playing with somebody on the field.
01:50 >> When a guy like that gets traded to Monte, is there concern at all in
01:55 the locker room that maybe some other guys could be moved to with a week here
01:59 before the NFL trade deadline?
02:01 >> I'm sure there's concerns.
02:02 I mean, no one's feeling good right now.
02:04 But I mean, talking with guys today, guys are ready to get to work.
02:08 Guys are prepared to go out here and get a win versus Atlanta.
02:12 Guys are ready to, no matter what happens, we're gonna come to work and so on.