Titans Cut Jordan Elliott After Reported Gun Incident at Facility
Tennessee released the veteran defensive tackle after a reported practice-day firearm incident. Coach Robert Saleh called it a cry for help.
The Tennessee Titans have released defensive tackle Jordan Elliott after what the team described only as an “incident” at its facility last week. Multiple outlets have since reported that the 28-year-old went to his car to get a gun following a heated practice-field dispute with a teammate. Robert Saleh, the Titans’ head coach, said Wednesday that Elliott had suffered a lapse in judgment that he saw as a call for help, not a criminal act.
What happened
The Titans announced the move Tuesday in a short statement. It said an incident involving Elliott had taken place at the team facility on Thursday, Oct. 15, and that the club decided to release him after reviewing it. The statement did not mention a firearm, and the team gave no further details.
The fuller account came from reporters. AtoZ Sports, a digital sports outlet, and Aaron Wilson of Houston television station KPRC reported that Elliott got into an argument during practice with JC Latham, the Titans’ starting right tackle and a 2024 first-round draft pick. According to those reports, Elliott was sent off the field. He then took off his pads, left the building and walked to the players’ parking area to retrieve a gun from his vehicle. ESPN confirmed the report, CBS Sports said, and added that the firearm never left Elliott’s parking spot.
Several outlets reported that John Franklin-Myers, a fellow Titans defensive lineman, followed Elliott outside and calmed the situation before anything worse happened. Wilson reported that security cameras recorded the sequence. Yahoo Sports noted that it remains unclear what Elliott intended to do or whether he went back into the facility afterward. NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk also said the reports leave open whether he actually took the gun out of the car.
The Metro Nashville Police Department said no report had been filed, according to CBS Sports and NBC Sports. Elliott has not been charged with any crime, and the Titans have neither confirmed nor denied the details reported by the media.
Saleh: ‘A call for help’
Saleh, who brought Elliott to Tennessee after coaching him in San Francisco, spoke at length about the episode at his Wednesday news conference. He called it “a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help,” according to AtoZ Sports, and praised the organization and the NFL for pausing to look at why it happened. AtoZ Sports reported that Saleh said the league and the team handled the matter internally and got Elliott help from clinicians.
The coach said he was not suggesting Elliott was in that state of mind, but he noted that the NFL has recently lost players who took their own lives. A source quoted by Wilson and cited by Yahoo Sports said Elliott had been dealing with “intense personal issues off the field involving his family.” Elliott was inactive for Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, and Saleh had said at the time that the player was “dealing with personal stuff,” CBS Sports reported.
Saleh also made clear why Elliott could not stay. “Unfortunately, rules are rules, and it can’t be here,” he said, in remarks reported by AtoZ Sports. Guns are banned on team and league property. Still, he called on other teams to give Elliott a chance, saying he “should be on an NFL roster.” Saleh also praised Franklin-Myers’s response as admirable and said Latham was fine.
Reaction and open questions
Not everyone has been as forgiving. Former Denver Broncos safety T.J. Ward criticized Elliott’s reported conduct as “egregious,” according to Pro Football Network, and TV analyst Emmanuel Acho said he did not expect Elliott to play in the league again.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk raised a separate question. He wrote that it was unclear whether the Titans told the NFL office about the incident promptly, and argued that doing so would have been “prudent, if not mandatory.” Saleh’s comments that “the league is aware,” as quoted by AtoZ Sports, suggest the NFL now knows about it. The league has not said publicly whether it will review the matter.
Background
Elliott joined the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and spent four seasons in Cleveland. He then played two seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, making 29 starts in 31 games, according to CBS Sports. Saleh was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator last season before becoming head coach in Tennessee.
Elliott signed a two-year contract worth about $8 million with the Titans this offseason, NBC Sports reported. He played in the team’s first five games this season, with one start and 11 tackles.
His release adds to a turbulent stretch for Tennessee. The Titans also benched cornerback Alontae Taylor, their biggest free-agent signing of the offseason, for Sunday’s game as a coach’s decision. The team hosts the Cleveland Browns, who lead the AFC North at 4-2, this weekend.
