The NFL has suspended Washington pass rusher Junior Galette two games for his role in a January incident, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Galette is out for the season and is on Washington’s injured reserve list, so he won’t miss any games that he wouldn’t have missed anyway, but the suspension will cost him two weeks of pay.
Galette, still a member of the Saints at the time, was arrested and booked on a count of misdemeanor simple battery related to domestic violence during the first week of 2015. The charge against Galette was ultimately dropped, but the NFL conducted its own investigation into the incident and decided to suspend the veteran pass rusher for two games.
Following Galette’s January arrest, 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 the edge defender, 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, Galette signed a one-year deal with Washington shortly after being cut by the Saints. The 27-year-old was New Orleans’ best pass rusher over the previous two seasons, recording 12 sacks in 2013 and picking up another 10 – along with three forced fumbles – in 2014.
Washington didn’t get to see that on-field production from Galette, however, as a torn Achilles in August prevented him from seeing any regular season action with the team. A report surfaced last week suggesting that Washington would like to re-sign him beyond this year, and since the club holds the right of first refusal on Galette, it will have the opportunity to match any rival offers he receives.
That’s annoying