Titans release defensive tackle Jordan Elliott after gun incident at team facility

The Tennessee Titans have cut defensive tackle Jordan Elliott after he took a gun from his vehicle in the team facility's parking lot following a practice-field dispute with a teammate, coach Robert Saleh confirmed.

The club announced the move Tuesday. A team statement, carried by WCAX and Dakota News Now, said only that Elliott was involved in an incident at the facility on Thursday, Oct. 15, and that the decision came after a review. Reports differ on the day Saleh discussed the details. BBC Sport placed his comments on Tuesday, while 6abc Action News and the WSMV/Gray News story published by WCAX and Dakota News Now said Wednesday.

The other player involved was offensive tackle JC Latham, BBC Sport reported. Gray News attributed that detail to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

6abc, citing The Associated Press, said an unnamed person briefed on the matter described Elliott heading out to the lot after the argument to retrieve a firearm he kept in his vehicle. League rules forbid personnel from carrying guns into club buildings, stadiums and team hotels or onto team travel. According to 6abc, the NFL said Tennessee alerted it quickly and that it is examining what happened.

Saleh spoke highly of Elliott, calling him a father and husband who had never broken the law. He described the episode as a "terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act," 6abc reported. Saleh said the team's firearm policy required the release, but added that he would vouch for Elliott to any of the league's other 31 teams seeking help on defense, according to BBC Sport.

Latham called it an unfortunate moment that unfolded amid the intensity of practice. "Never been no bad blood between us two," he said, according to BBC Sport. He told reporters the pair had socialized before and had no history of arguing, 6abc reported. He also stressed the importance of mental health and wished Elliott well, BBC Sport said.

Elliott, 28, was listed as inactive when the Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. This season he appeared in five games, starting one, and recorded 11 tackles, per 6abc.

Cleveland picked Elliott in the third round of the 2020 draft. He played four years with the Browns and then two with the San Francisco 49ers, 6abc reported. Tennessee signed him in free agency before this season to a deal worth $8 million over two years, reuniting him with Saleh.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC Sport, 6abc Action News, WCAX and Dakota News Now. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/349