Junior Galette - Pro Football Rumors

Washington LB Junior Galette Fires Agent

February 28th, 2016 at 1:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Pending free agent linebacker Junior Galette has fired his agent due to his unhappiness with ongoing contract negotiations, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Galette must wait five days to replace the fired Peter Schaffer, and talks with Washington are currently suspended.

Per Jones, Galette is intent on signing a one-year, “pillow” contract, similar to the deal he signed with Washington last season after being cut by the Saints. The club, however, is countering with multi-year proposals featuring incentives that, despite being recommended by Schaffer, are of no interest to the 27-year-old Galette.

While still being paid $12.5MM by New Orleans, Galette last year agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum — an option that Galette is not considering this time around, per Jones. “[Washington is] who my heart is with,” said Galette “I just want a one-year deal, and it has to be a fair deal. I’m not putting a number out there, but it has to be fair.”

Despite wanting to remain in Washington, Galette says he is open to entertaining offers from other teams. And while other suitors might be out there on the open market, Galette is still a bit hamstrung — his 2015 contract allowed Washington the right of first refusal in 2016, so the team has the option of matching any offer Galette receives from another NFL club.

Galette, of course, never actually played for Washington in 2015, having torn his Achilles in August. According to Jones, Galette’s recovery has gone well, and he remains on track to fully participate in offseason work with Washington — or his next team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Schwartz, D. Jackson, Galette, Fins

February 15th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

After watching the Giants post 6-10 records for two consecutive seasons, Geoff Schwartz will be eyeing a contending team in free agency, the recently released offensive lineman told Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).

“I want to go to a winner. I’m tired of congratulating my friends on winning Super Bowls,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz probably won’t receive a four-year contract like he signed with the Giants two years ago, considering the guard/tackle has only played in 13 games the past two seasons, but the $4.2MM AAV on that deal may still be in the ballpark of what the 29-year-old Schwartz seeks. Pro Football Focus rated him as the league’s 20th-best guard last season, even though he only played 11 games.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

DeSean Jackson only has one year left on his contract with Washington, and the team would create nearly $7MM in cap savings by cutting him, but such a move doesn’t really makes sense, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. If anything, Keim writes, Washington should explore the possibility of tacking a couple more years onto Jackson’s deal.
Mike Jones of the Washington Post explores another contract situation in Washington, examining what sort of offer the club should make to pass rusher Junior Galette. According to Jones, people familiar with Galette’s thinking believe he might prefer a one-year pact in order to rebuild his value and land a big, multiyear contract a year from now. However, Galette also may be unwilling to sign another low-salary deal, preferring something in the range of $7-9MM. That could be too pricey for Washington, complicating negotiations.
James Walker of ESPN.com debates whether the Dolphins should take a rebuilding approach this offseason, or simply retool their roster and attempt to win now. Walker comes down in favor of a rebuild, arguing that quick fixes haven’t worked in Miami and that the team should recommit to building through the draft.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Junior Galette Expects To Re-Sign With Washington

January 11th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Washington linebacker Junior Galette has resumed running and is expected to regain full strength by March, Mike Jones of the Washington Post writes. Once he is back to 100%, Galette says that he wants to sign a long-term deal with Washington. coach Jay Gruden said that he hopes to have the linebacker back in 2016.

The Redskins signed Galette in July despite having spent recent second-round draft picks on Trent Murphy (2014) and Preston Smith (2015). Off-field issues played a role in New Orleans releasing him, but Washington believed that Galette made sense as an addition due to his football ability. In November, Galette signed a one-year deal with Washington before tearing his Achilles in August. The 27-year-old (28 in March) 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. Galette’s production earned him a lucrative contract extension in September, but his offseason was dominated by negative headlines.

In January of 2015, Galette was arrested on a domestic violence charge that was later dropped. After that, 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.

Washington quickly snatched Galette off the free agent market when he became available, despite an expectation that he could face a suspension, but it was a low-risk, minimum-salary deal for the team. A similar deal could bring the two sides back together for the 2016 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Junior Galette Suspended Two Games

November 16th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Washington Hopes To Re-Sign Junior Galette

November 11th, 2015 at 7:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Washington never got to see pass rusher Junior Galette in action, but they hope to make that happen in 2016. Galette has said he would like to re-sign with the team in 2016 and head coach Jay Gruden says the feeling is mutual, as Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune writes.

“He came into training camp and was outstanding for us and really got our hearts pumping,” Gruden said. “We were really fired up to get him. We didn’t have any issues with him whatsoever…We obviously would love to get him back if we can,” he said.

Galette signed a one-year deal with Washington before tearing his Achilles in August. The 27-year-old (28 in March) 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. Galette’s 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. After that, 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.

Washington quickly snatched Galette off the free agent market when he became available, despite an expectation that he could face a suspension, but it was a low-risk, minimum-salary deal for the team. A similar deal could bring the two sides back together in the New Year.

Washington Makes Cuts, Down To 75 Players

August 31st, 2015 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The big news out of Washington today will be Jay Gruden‘s announcement that Kirk Cousins is heading into the year not just as the starter for Week 1, but as the starter for the 2015 season. However, “Kirk’s team,” as Gruden referred to it today, also made a series of roster moves to get down to the required 75-man roster in advance of tomorrow’s deadline.

One of today’s roster moves for Washington is the placement of pass rusher Junior Galette on injured reserve. Galette, who joined the club after being released by the Saints, tore his Achilles last week and will miss the entire 2015 campaign.

Here are the rest of Washington’s moves (via Twitter):

Waived:

Ernst Brun, TE
Dyshawn Davis, LB
Chase Dixon, TE
Tajh Hasson, CB
Alonzo Highsmith, LB
DreQuan Hoskey, CB
Tony Jones, WR (waived/injured)
Ty Long, K
Devin Mahina, TE
Bryce Quigley, G
Trey Wolfe, CB

Released:

Bryan McCann, CB
Willie Smith, T

NFC Notes: Galette, Chancellor, Falcons

August 27th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

The hits keep coming for Junior Galette, as the Saints are claiming that the veteran outside linebacker voided the guarantee on his base salary of $1.25MM for this season and don’t intend to pay any of that money, according to two sources who spoke with Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

It’s not clear exactly how the team believes Galette voided that guarantee, and there’s no indication the Saints are trying to get back any of the $12.5MM they paid him in the spring, but that $1.25MM figures to be a point of contention. Galette, who signed with Washington in the offseason, suffered a torn Achilles and has been ruled out for the season.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

While it hasn’t received the sort of attention that a quarterback’s holdout would, the Kam Chancellor situation is drawing plenty of interest around the NFL, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who writes that teams – and even some agents – don’t want to see the Seahawks cave to their star safety. In La Canfora’s view, the club has to be willing to see if Chancellor will give up game checks.
According to former agent Joel Corry (via Twitter), Chancellor’s holdout has cost him his salary guarantee for this season, unless his contract language is different from other Seattle deals. Meanwhile, former team executive Andrew Brandt suggests (via Twitter) that he thinks the Seahawks will waive Chancellor’s fines if and when he reports, but the team can’t say that now, since there’d be no incentive for Chancellor to end his holdout.
Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports has some details on the Eagles‘ new deal with Mychal Kendricks, tweeting that the linebacker got a signing bonus worth $8MM and will get $16.9MM over the next three years.
The Falcons considered signing offensive guard Evan Mathis, but elected not to pull the trigger on a deal, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “We certainly did evaluate him,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Thomas [Dimitroff] and I both did.” Mathis, of course, signed with the Broncos on Tuesday. A deal with the Falcons would have marked a homecoming of sorts for the Birmingham native.
In an effort to cut back on his day-to-day involvement, 72-year-old Falcons owner Arthur Blank will hire a CEO to oversee all of his for-profit businsess, including the Falcons, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Junior Galette Tears Achilles, Out For Year

August 26th, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

2:34pm: A source close to Galette confirms to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link) that the pass rusher did indeed tear his Achilles. Washington hasn’t officially confirmed the injury or placed Galette on IR yet, but his season will be over.

1:42pm: Washington is concerned that the lower leg injury suffered in today’s practice by veteran pass rusher Junior Galette is serious, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), it’s an Achilles injury, and the team fears it’s torn — Galette is undergoing tests today to determine the severity of the injury.

If the team confirms that the Achilles is, in fact, torn, it would be the latest piece of bad news in a terrible offseason for Galette, who began the year with the Saints. The 27-year-old was New Orleans’ 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. Galette’s 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 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.

Washington quickly snatched Galette off the free agent market when he became available, despite an expectation that he could face a suspension, but it was a low-risk, minimum-salary deal for the team. Although it won’t hurt the club much financially if Galette’s season ends early, it would be bad news for Washington’s pass rush, considering Brian Orakpo departed to Tennessee in March and Ryan Kerrigan is returning from arthroscopic knee surgery.

If Galette lands on injured reserve, it wouldn’t necessarily end his time in Washington — the team’s one-year contract with the ex-Saint includes the right of first refusal for 2016, meaning Washington will have the opportunity to match any offer he receives from another club.

East Notes: Galette, Wayne, Brady, Ryans

August 25th, 2015 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s “a feeling” in Washington that the team will learn this week whether or not veteran pass rusher Junior Galette will face a suspension for any off-field incidents, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. Washington didn’t waste much time picking up Galette after he was released by the Saints, suggesting the front office wasn’t expecting a significant penalty. According to Keim, the club is hopeful that any Galette suspension would be for two games or less.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two East divisions:

Josina Anderson of ESPN.com provides a couple specific figures on Reggie Wayne‘s new contract with the Patriots, tweeting that has a maximum value of $2.8MM and features a $450K signing bonus. According to Wayne, he fielded “a lot of serious calls from some good teams,” but decided New England was the best fit for him, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Attorneys for the NFL and NFLPA met yesterday for another settlement conference regarding Tom Brady‘s case, but – as expected – the session didn’t lead to an agreement, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The next hearing in Judge Richard Berman’s court regarding the Patriots quarterback is scheduled for August 31.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links) wonders what the Mychal Kendricks extension means for Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans. As McLane explains, he heard earlier this year that Kendricks would likely only play one more season in Philadelphia, so the apparent change of heart from the team may be related to Ryans, who turned 31 last month.
E.J. Manuel acknowledged during training camp this year that he knows his days with the Bills may be numbered if he doesn’t play well. However, as Sal Capaccio of WGR550 details, Manuel says he loves playing in Buffalo: “I want to stay here.”

Washington GM, HC On Galette Signing, Morris

August 2nd, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After the Saints released controversial linebacker Junior Galette last week, Washington quickly signed him to a one-year, minimum salary deal. General manager Scot McCloughan and head coach Jay Gruden spoke to reporters today, touching on the Galette signing, running back Alfred Morris, and other topics. Lets’ take a look at the highlights:

McCloughan said Washington got word the Saints were going to release Galette about a week before the transaction actually took place, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (via Twitter), so the club had plenty of time to conduct research on Galette.
“There’s a chance” that Galette is in line for a suspension — either because of his arrest earlier this year, or his involvement in an assualt incident captured on video — but McCloughan doesn’t know where the process stands at the moment, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.
On the subject of the video: “I did not like the video at all and as a matter of fact when I saw the video it was scary,” McCloughan said, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. “That’s why I wanted to meet with him face to face. That’s why I had to sit down with him and ask him what happened. I got the real story and I’m fine with that.” McCloughan said he spoke to more than 20 people regarding the events on the video, per Keim (Twitter link).
Washington is giving Galette a second chance, but it won’t give him a third, says McCloughan. “He knows he’s got to walk the line, and he knows if he doesn’t, he’s gone,” said the GM (per Jones on Twitter).
Both McCloughan and Gruden want Morris to stay in Washington for the long haul, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). “We anticipate Alfred being here for a while,” said Gruden. “I love what Alfred is all about on and off the field.” However, Keim adds (via Twitter) that a deal isn’t expected to come together any time soon. Morris is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
McCloughan confirmed that he has final say over the 53-man roster, but added that the coaching staff and personnel department would have a hand in formulating the final roster, tweets Boyer.