Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh has defended “great man” Jordan Elliott after the defensive tackle was released from the NFL franchise following an incident involving a gun.
According to several reports, Elliott, 28, went to his car to retrieve the firearm after getting into an altercation with a team-mate at practice.
On Tuesday, the Titans confirmed Elliott had been released following “an incident at our team facility” on Thursday, October 15.
Saleh confirmed that a gun was at the centre of the incident, but raised concerns about Elliott’s mental health and believed he “had a terrible lapse in judgement that I recognise as a call for help more than a criminal act”.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Saleh said: “First I want to say I think the organisation and the NFL did an outstanding job with regards to pausing it, which I think everyone needs to do in this situation is pause, with regards to the news that Jordan had a gun.
“The reason I (think) they did an outstanding job is because this is a man who is a father, a great husband, he’s never committed a crime in his entire life, and he pulled a gun in the parking lot.
“The first question that I think everyone forgets to ask is why would a great man, a great father, a man who shows up on time every day, works his a** off every day, contributes the way he’s supposed to contribute, is well-liked in the locker room, why did he go off the rails and grab a gun?
“To me, those are small signs of a cry for help. Obviously there is something greater happening, and I thought the NFL and the team did an outstanding job with regards to pausing and asking those questions, and checking every single box with regards to getting him the help that he needs.
“In the last year the NFL has lost two outstanding men to taking their own lives because they may have been crying for help and everyone ignored it.
“I’m not saying that’s where he was, I’m not going to speak on that, but these kids go through a lot.
“I will stand on the table for Jordan’s character. Unfortunately rules are rules with regards to guns on property, and sometimes it’s far greater than the knee-jerk reaction of kicking somebody when they’re down.”
Saleh was adamant that he would still recommend Elliott to another franchise.
He added: “My message to 31 other teams would be if you need a hell of a run-stopping 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 judgement that I recognise as a call for help more than a criminal act. It’s unfortunate the way it went down, but as far as Jordan is concerned and the locker room and all that, I think people here see it differently than the knee-jerk reaction of the world.”