Junior Galette was released by the New Orleans Saints after dealing with off the field issues and now the linebacker is about to be a free agent and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, NY Giants, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns could be potential landing spots.
Galette is reportedly being released by the Saints and Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reports that Galette has passed a physical, which means he can officially be released by the team. Galette's agent confirmed the news to ESPN and said that the Saints waited for Galette to pass a physical after he suffered an injury earlier in the summer. The Saints cut Galette despite the fact that they signed him to a $40 million extension and that means they will have a $5 million cap hit for the season.
Galette is in a tough situation right now, as the NFL is looking into reports about domestic violence regarding Galette, including a video that surfaced online of him striking a woman with a belt. Galette also was arrested earlier in the year for "allegedly injuring a female house guest" after a dispute. Galette's attorney said to ESPN that in the beach video with the belt there is "no proof" that Galette is the man in the video.
The NFL is still reportedly considering punishment for Galette, but once he becomes a free agent, he will be permitted to sign with teams. Galette is just 27 and he comes in after putting up some strong numbers over the past couple seasons, recording 22 sacks in the last two years. Galette signed a $41.5 million contract extension in September and reports have Galette "coasting" after signing the deal and former players with the Saints took to social media to bash the linebacker after the news was announced. ESPN.com reported that Galette had "chemistry issues" in the locker room and he did not take getting voted as a captain "seriously."
Galette has not missed a game in the past two seasons and after putting up five sacks in 2012, he record a career best 12 in 2013 and he had 10 in 2014 for the Saints. The team just gave Cameron Jordan a big contract extension and now with Galette released, the team has a tough financial situation. The Cowboys could look at Galette after signing Hardy, as they were fifth worst in sacks last season, while the NY Giants could be an option with JPP having a finger amputated this offseason. The Browns, Chargers, Bengals, Oakland Raiders and Bears also finished in the bottom half of the league in total sacks.
Galette could be a risky move after reports came out that he was not a great teammate or hard worker in the locker room after signing a lucrative contract and that he also got into a fight with a teammate before a game. All of that could turn off teams in signing Galette along with the fact that he is connected to a domestic violence issue, but like the Cowboys showed with Greg Hardy, need sometimes beats PR. Hardy was suspended and the Cowboys appear fine with bringing him in and now Galette is the next case to watch.
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