Former Saints pass rusher Junior Galette has his first potential suitor, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, who reports (via Twitter) that Galette will visit Washington, taking a physical for the team and meeting club officials.
Galette, 27, was the Saints’ best pass rusher over the last two seasons, recording 12 sacks in 2013 and picking up another 10 – along with three forced fumbles – in 2014. His production earned him a lucrative contract extension in September, but his offseason was dominated by negative headlines. In January, Galette was arrested on a domestic violence charge that was later dropped. More recently a video from 2013 surfaced showing a man that appears to be Galette involved in a beach brawl, striking a woman with a belt.
The off-field concerns resulted in the Saints releasing Galette on Monday, despite having to eat a huge chunk of dead money. Following the move, reports surfaced indicating that Galette had a negative influence on the New Orleans locker room, and his former teammates didn’t seem too broken up about his departure.
Nonetheless, Washington will kick the tires on Galette and find out if there’s a potential fit for him on a roster that features outside linebackers Trent Murphy, Preston Smith, and the just-extended Ryan Kerrigan. If the team does decide to add him, it wouldn’t be the first time this offseason that an NFC East team has signed a standout pass rusher facing potential league discipline for an off-field incident — the Cowboys, of course, added Greg Hardy earlier this year.
Galette’s physical could also provide crucial information for Washington as the team decides whether or not to sign him, since the edge defender is recovering from a pectoral injury.