Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh has promised to vouch for Jordan Elliott to rival NFL teams after he was cut for trying to confront a teammate with a gun.
Saleh staunchly defended Elliott’s character in a press conference on Wednesday, a day after he was axed by the Titans for having a firearm at the team’s facility in Nashville.
The 6-foot-4 defensive tackle became involved in a heated argument with a teammate, believed to be JC Latham, on the practice field on October 15.
That anger then carried over to the locker room and Elliott was later seen storming off to the players’ parking garage next to the facility to retrieve the firearm from his vehicle.
Addressing the incident, Saleh believes it was a ‘small sign of a cry for help’ and also referenced cases of NFL players killing themselves in recent years. The former New York Jets coach said he wants Elliott to ‘get all the help he needs.’
But he also vouched for Elliott, insisted the incident was out of character and boldly promised other NFL teams that his former player would be a brilliant new signing.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh has promised to vouch for Jordan Elliott to rival NFL teams
Elliott was axed by the Titans on Tuesday for having a firearm at the team’s facility in Nashville
‘I’m not saying that’s where he was, but these kids go through a lot. I will stand on the table for Jordan’s character,’ Saleh said.
‘Unfortunately, rules are rules regarding guns on property and sometimes it’s far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they’re down.
‘My message to 31 other teams would be if you need a helluva runstopping D-tackle that can help you on a playoff run, give me a call. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about him.
‘He’s a good man. Had a terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act…. [Elliott] deserves another chance. Rules are rules, it can’t be here.’
News of the defensive tackle’s exit from the team was announced on Tuesday, but the Titans’ statement only included reference to an ‘incident,’ with the mysterious details withheld.
More information later came to light, though, with A to Z Sports and beat reporter Aaron Wilson of KPRC both reporting that Elliott became involved in a heated argument with a teammate that threatened to get out of hand.
Wilson’s report claims the teammate was Latham, and that the circumstances that unfolded were captured by security cameras inside the Titans facility.
After he went to his car, it is then reported that the situation was ‘de-escalated before there was any altercation involving the firearm.’
Elliott attempted to retrieve a firearm from his vehicle after an argument with a teammate
Wilson reported that veteran defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers played the role of peacemaker and talked Elliott down before the situation became more serious.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Titans and Elliott’s agent for comment.
Elliott appeared in the Titans’ first five games of this season, making one start and logging 11 tackles. He was inactive for last weekend’s game in the wake of the incident at the team facility.
The former Cleveland Browns third-round draft pick signed a two-year, $8 million deal with Tennessee in March.
He previously spent four years in Cleveland before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency and spending the last two seasons in the Bay Area.
It has been a disastrous start to the season for Tennessee, which lost its first five games of the season before finally sealing a win on Sunday against the also-struggling Indianapolis Colts.
This week, the Titans are back in Nashville and host the Cleveland Browns.
