Robert Saleh’s comments on Jordan Elliott may have opened the door a crack for a 49ers reunion, even if that door still looks heavily guarded.
The Tennessee Titans released the former San Francisco defensive tackle after a strange and troubling incident at practice: Elliott went to his car to retrieve a firearm after an argument with a teammate. It was the kind of story that immediately put his future in doubt.
Saleh, now the Titans’ head coach and formerly the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, didn’t try to bury Elliott. He called the episode a severe lapse in judgment, but he also described Elliott as a good man and a good father, and stood up for his character.
That stance fits with the fact that Saleh was quick to bring Elliott to Tennessee after taking over, which says plenty about how much he valued him as a player and as a person, even though Elliott was never a star in San Francisco last season.
So now the question hangs there: would any team be willing to roll the dice on Elliott, and would the 49ers be willing to be the one that does it?
The fit on paper is easy enough to explain. San Francisco needs depth on the defensive line, and while Osa Odighizuwa and Gracen Halton have handled the interior well, the group gets thinner after that. Elliott isn’t a pass-rush threat - he had none with the Niners and has none this season - but he could still help if he holds up against the run.
Still, the risk is obvious. The 49ers are 6-0, and adding someone with this kind of baggage could create more problems than it solves. There’s also the uncomfortable optics of putting Elliott in a locker room with Ricky Pearsall and Keion White, both of whom were literally shot in the last few years.
Maybe that makes a reunion unlikely. Probably does. But if San Francisco takes another hit on the interior, it’s the kind of move that could at least come up for discussion.
Saleh’s defense of Elliott carries real weight, and second chances are part of football and life. Even so, this would be a gamble for the 49ers - not impossible, just messy.
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