Ellison Cut by the Chargers

San Diego Chargers safety Kevin Ellison, who was arrested in Redondo Beach last month on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, was released by the team Monday.

Ellison told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he was not surprised by the team's decision to let him go and he hopes to be signed by another NFL team soon.

"The Chargers felt they needed to move in a different direction, and now I have to move in a different direction," he said in an interview with the San Diego newspaper. "I'll just let things take their course."

The Redondo Union alumnus was pulled over for driving 40 mph in a 25-mph school zone around RUHS on May 24, said Sgt. Peter Grimm of the Redondo Beach Police Department. When an officer searched his vehicle, he found 100 tablets of Vicodin on the center console, Grimm said.

Ellison was booked on one count of possession of a controlled substance at the Redondo Beach Jail, then released two hours later on a $10,000 bail bond.

Ellison's agent, Jerome Stanley, told the media that his client was not aware that Vicodin was a controlled substance and didn't want to run out of the pills after undergoing multiple knee surgeries.

Ellison is due in L.A. County Superior Court in Torrance on July 7.

The Chargers had told Ellison to stay away from the team's minicamp practice in May so that he would not be a distraction. He rejoined the team for offseason workouts the week after the camp.

The 6-foot 1-inch Ellison played for the Sea Hawks and USC before starting nine games as a rookie for the Chargers in the 2009 season, during which he made 52 tackles.