Bears to work out ex-Titans DT Jordan Elliott during bye week after Bucs game

The Chicago Bears are planning to work out free-agent defensive tackle Jordan Elliott next week. Tennessee released him in October after a gun-related incident at the team's practice facility. NFL insider Jordan Schultz first reported the workout, and SB Nation and NBC Sports followed with their own reports. The tryout would most likely take place at Halas Hall during the bye week that comes after Sunday night's game against Tampa Bay.

Elliott would add size and experience to the middle of the line. He is 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds and turns 29 soon. He has 102 career games, 65 of them starts, with 159 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks. His stint in Tennessee lasted only five games. Yahoo Sports reported that after a practice altercation with a teammate on Oct. 15, he went to his car to get a gun. The Titans cut him on Oct. 20. Bringing a firearm onto team property breaks league rules. WSMV reported that the NFL is reviewing the incident and that Elliott could still be suspended. Any club that signs him would have to account for that.

Titans coach Robert Saleh has publicly argued for giving Elliott another chance. Saleh also coached him in San Francisco. After the release, he told the other 31 teams that if they need "a hell of a run-stopping DT that can help for a playoff run," they should call him, according to SB Nation. Athlon Sports pointed out that the workout comes only days after Jeffery Simmons, the Bears' recent trade acquisition, played his first game for Chicago. Sports Illustrated noted that Simmons and Elliott were teammates in Tennessee. Chicago has already used one Titans connection to strengthen its interior line, and this workout tests whether it wants a second.

What it means for Sunday night

Elliott won't play against the Buccaneers. Any signing would come during the bye, after Sunday's game. That gives the Bears and the league time to sort out his status before Chicago's next game. For now the interior line stays as it is, with Simmons in his second game as a Bear.

The Bears are 6-2 heading into Sunday Night Football on NBC at Soldier Field, with three straight wins. They won 31-23 at Atlanta, 30-24 over New England and 34-17 at Seattle. Over the full season they are averaging about 26.8 points and allowing 20. Both losses came against division opponents: 9-3 to Minnesota and 31-7 at Green Bay. They are 3-1 at home, and the lone home loss was that low-scoring game against the Vikings.

Chicago is clearly favored on this site's board for the game, which tracks 11 venues. Novig, one of those venues, has the Bears at -251 to win outright. The best price anywhere is -250 at theScore Bet, so the venues are close to even on the winner. Tampa Bay is +245 on Novig. The spread shows a bit more spread between venues. Novig has Chicago -6.5 at +108, while theScore Bet has the Bears -6 at -105. Novig and DraftKings both set the total at 47.5, and theScore Bet has it at 48.5. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.7 to 4.6 percent.