Tennessee Titans Release Jordan Elliott After Parking Lot Firearm Incident
Tennessee Titans release defensive tackle Jordan Elliott after a parking lot firearm incident. Coach Robert Saleh addresses the lapse in judgment.
POLICY WIRE — Nashville, United States — Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh confirmed Wednesday that defensive tackle Jordan Elliott was released after pulling a gun in the parking lot of the team facility but said it was a terrible lapse in judgment that he recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act.
The Titans had announced Tuesday that Elliott was released, saying only that it came after his involvement in an unspecified incident at the team facility five days earlier. A person briefed on the incident told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Elliott had a gun in his car and went to the parking lot to retrieve it following a dispute with another player, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing review.
The NFL strictly prohibits league personnel from bringing firearms to club facilities, stadiums, team hotels, or aboard team transportation. The Titans promptly notified the league of the incident involving Elliott, which remains under review according to league officials.
Addressing reporters, Saleh defended Elliott’s underlying character despite the violation. Unfortunately, rules are rules with regard to guns on property, and sometimes it is far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they are down, the coach stated.
He is a good man, Saleh added, noting that the player had a terrible lapse in judgment that he views as a cry for assistance rather than a malicious criminal act. He has never committed a crime in his entire life and he pulled a gun, in the parking lot.
Right tackle JC Latham, who was involved in the initial practice field altercation with Elliott, characterized the episode as an unfortunate situation. Latham noted that there has never been any bad blood between them, recalling that they spent the summer getting together for treatment and hanging out whenever they were in the same city without any prior arguments.
Elliott appeared in five games this season with one start, recording 11 tackles. He initially followed Saleh to Nashville following a two-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in 31 games and made 29 starts.
The 6-foot-4 defensive tackle was originally selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2020 draft, spending his first four seasons there before signing a two-year, $7 million deal with San Francisco and subsequently joining Tennessee in the offseason on a two-year, $8 million deal.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
