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 I 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’s 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 after a dispute with another player. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the incident is being reviewed.
The NFL prohibits league personnel from taking a firearm to club facilities, stadiums and team hotels and on team planes or buses.
The Titans promptly notified the league of the incident involving Elliott, which is being reviewed, the NFL said.
Speaking to reporters, Saleh defended Jordan's character. “Unfortunately, rules are rules with regard to guns on property, and sometimes it’s far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they’re down,” the coach said.
“He’s a good man. Made a terrible, had a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act,” Saleh added. "He’s 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 altercation with Elliott on the practice field, called the episode an unfortunate situation.
“I don’t really have too much to say about it," Latham said Wednesday. “There ain’t never been no bad blood between us two. We were here on the summer getting treatment. Before that, we hung out whenever we were in the same city together. We actually had never had an argument leading up to it."
Elliott appeared in five games this season with one start and had 11 tackles. He followed Saleh to Nashville after a two-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in 31 games with 29 starts.
The 6-foot-4 defensive tackle was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2020 draft. He spent his first four seasons in Cleveland before signing a two-year, $7 million deal with San Francisco.
Tennessee added him as a free agent in the offseason on a two-year, $8 million deal.
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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.
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