Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh revealed Wednesday that the organization released defensive tackle Jordan Elliott following an incident at the team’s facility last week. While the team initially stated only that the release stemmed from an unspecified event, it has since been confirmed that Elliott retrieved a gun from his vehicle in the team’s parking lot following a disagreement with a teammate. 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.
Saleh expressed regret over the situation, describing Elliott’s actions as a “terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act.” The coach emphasized that Elliott has never had any criminal history, though he acknowledged that the team had to uphold its rules regarding weapons on the property. “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,” Saleh told reporters.
The dispute involved right tackle JC Latham, who described the event as an unfortunate misunderstanding. Latham noted that the two players had maintained a friendly relationship prior to the confrontation, adding, “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, 6-foot-4, joined the Titans this past offseason on a two-year, $8 million contract. His tenure in Tennessee was short-lived, appearing in five games with one start and recording 11 tackles. His career trajectory previously included four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, who selected him in the third round of the 2020 draft, followed by a two-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers. He had played in 31 games for San Francisco with 29 starts before reuniting with Saleh in Nashville. He spent his first four seasons in Cleveland before signing a two-year, $7 million deal with San Francisco.
