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Titans release Tretola after turbulent offseason

Tennessee Titans offensive guard Sebastian Tretola leaves the field after NFL football training camp Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Tennessee Titans offensive guard Sebastian Tretola leaves the field after NFL football training camp Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

The Tennessee Titans cut Sebastian Tretola on Friday, five days after he was shot in the leg outside a night club in Fayetteville.

Tretola, an Associated Press second-team All-American guard at Arkansas in 2015, was one of two players released by the franchise. In a release announcing multiple personnel changes, the Titans did not give a reason for Tretola's release.

Tretola was one of two men shot near the University of Arkansas campus in the early hours of July 23. Sgt. Anthony Murphy with the Fayetteville Police Department said "the shooting was preceded by an altercation between two males. That altercation escalated. One of the males produced a handgun and fired shots."

According to police, Tretola was in the argument with the shooter, who has yet to be identified. The second victim was a bystander.

Tretola was released from Washington Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

“Verbatim when I got hold of him yesterday, I said, ‘Hey, first thing I do is hug you and the next thing I do is probably punch you,’ you know,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said Monday, recalling his visit with Tretola after the shooting. “I just want him to realize what he has.”

The shooting was one of two off-field incidents involving Tretola this offseason. He was arrested in May when a man alleged Tretola served as a lookout while his Titans teammate, receiver Tajae Sharpe, assaulted him in an alley behind a Nashville, Tenn., bar. In a lawsuit, Dante Satterfield claimed he suffered a concussion, broken bones in his face and a damaged eardrum as a result of the altercation.

Attorneys for Tretola and Sharpe have called Satterfield's lawsuit against the players a "blatant money grab" and claim Satterfield had harassed the men and attempted to pick a fight, according to the Associated Press.

Tretola was drafted by the Titans in the sixth round in 2016. He played in one game as a rookie.

Tretola started all but two games during two seasons at Arkansas after transferring from Iowa Western Community College in 2014. He gained national notoriety in his first season with the Razorbacks by throwing a touchdown pass on a fake field goal during a game against Alabama-Birmingham.

He began his college career at Nevada, where he was a redshirt freshman starter before academic issues caused him to transfer to junior college.

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