The NFL is investigating former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, who was released after he went to get a gun from his car following a fight at practice, and he could be suspended even though he is not on a team. “If there is a violation that’s found while he’s not on a team, Elliott could serve a suspension as the free agent that he now is,” Adam Schefter reported on Thursday, Oct. 22, citing a league spokesman.
An NFL spokesman said the league is investigating the situation surrounding former Titans DT Jordan Elliott, who was released after he brought a gun to the team’s training facility. If there is a violation that’s found while he’s not on a team, Elliott could serve a suspension as… pic.twitter.com/oaeadgM5JE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 22, 2026
A day earlier, a league spokesperson had answered “Yes” when Mike Florio asked whether Elliott faced league scrutiny, adding: “The club promptly notified the league of the matter which is under review.”
What happened in Nashville
The incident took place on Thursday, Oct. 15. Elliott got into an altercation with right tackle JC Latham during practice and was told to leave the field. He took off his pads, left the building and went to the players’ parking lot, where he retrieved a gun from his car. Security cameras recorded the sequence. Veteran defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers talked him down, and Mike Garafolo reported that the gun never left the parking area. No one was hurt.
The Titans released Elliott on Tuesday in a short statement that only mentioned an incident at the team facility. On Wednesday, coach Robert Saleh confirmed what had happened.
.@Titans HC Robert Saleh discusses the incident with DL Jordan Elliott, which involved a gun, and what he deemed his cry for help. Said Elliott is a good man who made a mistake in judgement. pic.twitter.com/w5XcQeuLRZ
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 21, 2026
Saleh: “A call for help more than a criminal act”
“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 said. “He’s never committed a crime in his entire life and he pulled a gun, in the parking lot.” He said the release was about the rules, not about piling on: “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, who mentioned the two suicides the league has seen over the past year and the pressure players carry, even made a pitch for him: “My message to 31 other teams: If you need a hell of a run-stopping DT that can help for a playoff run, give me a call. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about him.”
Latham called it an unfortunate situation. “There ain’t never been no bad blood between us two,” he said. “We actually had never had an argument leading up to it.”
Why a suspension is likely
League policy bans players from having firearms on club property, and that includes a gun left in a car parked at a team facility. The rule is supposed to be posted in several places in every team building. An executive with another team told Florio it was an “egregious conduct violation” and that Elliott is “fairly certain” to be suspended if and when he signs somewhere. Because he is a free agent, any ban could be served before he joins a new team rather than after.
Elliott, 28, was a third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2020. He spent four seasons in Cleveland and two with the San Francisco 49ers, where he made 29 starts in 31 games, before following Saleh to Tennessee on a two-year, $8 million deal. He had 11 tackles in five games this season. The Titans host the Browns on Sunday.
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