Titans coach Robert Saleh defended defensive tackle Jordan Elliott on Wednesday, a day after Tennessee released him following an alleged incident involving a gun. Saleh called it "a terrible lapse in judgement" and, per ESPN and Yahoo Sports, said it was "a call for help more than a criminal act." Pro Football Talk reported that Saleh spent a large part of the press conference on the subject.

The Associated Press, via Sportsnet, reported that Elliott was released after pulling a gun in a parking lot. Yahoo Sports described the location as the team's practice facility. Those descriptions don't conflict, but none of the summaries we have says where exactly it happened or what led up to it. Yahoo also called it a gun-related incident "last week," while its other report and the rest of the coverage place the release earlier this week. We don't have the full articles, so we can't resolve that.

The fullest account of Saleh's reasoning comes from a Reddit highlight. In it, Saleh describes Elliott as "a man who is a father, a great husband, he's never committed a crime in his entire life." He then asks, "why did he go off the rails and grab a gun? To me, those are small signs of a cry for help." A second highlight says Saleh noted that players have recently taken their own lives. It says he did not suggest Elliott is in that mindset but is mindful that this could have been a cry for help. Those are fan-posted summaries of his remarks, not full transcripts.

Yahoo Sports also reported that Saleh said other NFL teams should sign Elliott. Of the outlets we have, that headline is the only one with that detail.

On the field, Elliott's loss is modest in the numbers. He played in five games this season and had 11 total tackles: two solo and nine assisted. He had no sacks and no forced fumbles. He was a rotation player making a small contribution, not a statistical driver of the defense.

The timing matters more for the club. Tennessee is 1-5 and fourth in the AFC South, but it comes off a 26-20 win at Indianapolis on Sunday. That broke a two-game skid that included a 26-3 home loss to Houston and a 24-18 loss at Baltimore. The Titans host Cleveland on Sunday, Oct. 25, and will play without Elliott. The reporting we have doesn't say whether any team has shown interest in him or whether the incident will lead to charges.