Titans Coach Mike Vrabel Names Safety Options if Amani Hooker Misses Chargers Matchup

The Tennessee Titans head into a Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers with the status of their starting safety Amani Hooker in the balance as he remains in concussion protocol.

After a tough loss to the New Orleans Saints to start the season, the Tennessee Titans will look to bounce back at home in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. They may have to do it without their starting safety and a man who created two turnovers in their opening game.

Amani Hooker suffered a concussion late in Sunday's game and according to head coach Mike Vrabel is still in concussion protocol as of Wednesday's practice. Vrabel has historically been very cautious with head injuries and it makes it unlikely we see Hooker on Sunday.

Vrabel already began to look forward at the options he will have to replace Hooker in the lineup at his press conference on Wednesday.

"He's (Hooker) still in the protocol," Vrabel said. "That would tell you that he's not ready to get back out there and the options, you have Elijah (Molden), Mike Brown, all the guys that played for us in the preseason — Matthew Jackson and Shy Carter on the practice squad. That would be the options."

Last week converted cornerback Elijah Molden 14 snaps at deep safety and would've played more if not for Kristian Fulton's injury, which forced Molden to go back to playing more slot cornerback. 

When Molden was playing deep safety in dime packages with six defensive backs on the field, it was actually Amani Hooker and Roger McCreary who manned the slot positions.

The reason for this is Molden's biggest struggle is in man coverage on wide receivers. Even in his productive rookie year in 2021, Molden would play slot corner on early downs to help in the run game, but come off the field in favor of Buster Skrine when it was passing time.

The reason Molden was moved to safety in the first place is because it fits his natural skillset better. Molden is instinctive and good at reading the quarterbacks eyes before playing downhill. He should get more opportunities to do this in the Titans' base 3-4 defense in Hooker's spot and also should be kept back deep in the event Fulton is also out of this game.

The correct move here requires two things. First, Molden can play Hooker's role as the starting safety and then when needed, Mike Brown, who did this in the preseason, can play in what would be Molden's role as a dime linebacker on passing downs.

The second part is more of a cornerback discussion, but it impacts Molden. If Fulton, who injured his hamstring in Week 1, can't play, the Titans need to avoid using Molden in the slot. It would be wise to keep McCreary in his slot role and use Tre Avery as Fulton's replacement.

Avery missed last week's game with a hamstring injury, but returned to practice on Wednesday. If Avery is back or Fulton ends up playing, the Titans need to do what they can to let Molden be purely a safety.

Either way, Hooker forced two turnovers against the Saints and has shown an ability to make plays on the ball his entire career. Even with Molden and the rest of the secondary slotted properly, they will miss Hooker against the Chargers if he doesn't clear protocol.

Titans Related Stories

• TANNEHILL WORSE ON FILM: The Tennessee Titans lost their opening game of the season while watching quarterback Ryan Tannehill throw three interceptions and if it looked bad on TV, it looked worse on the coaches film. CLICK HERE
• VRABEL ON TANNEHILL: The Tennessee Titans opening loss to the New Orleans Saints was caused mostly by a poor performance from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and while head coach Mike Vrabel can't explain it, he is banking on Tannehill improving. CLICK HERE
• TIM KELLY FILM ROOM: The Tennessee Titans may have only scored 15 points in their Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints, but it wasn't because they didn't have their opportunities. New offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was impressive in his debut. CLICK HERE