Former Saints LB Galette Suddenly Not Getting Much Interest
Former New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Junior Galette hasn’t generated the buzz as a free agent that he thought he was going to.
After an emotional interview immediately following his release from the team, he said that it was possible after “40 sacks” in the next two years maybe he’d return to New Orleans.
Well to get to that number, Galette is going to have tho find a team first — which before the infamous “Is it Junior or not” Twitter rant, things looked different.
Immediately following his release, I profiled a handful of teams that might be interested in bringing him in to use his pass rushing skills.
Oct 13, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; New Orleans Saints linebacker Junior Galette (93) during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Saints 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Of course that was prior to all the backlash that followed including the aforementioned alleged Twitter rant that the majority of the fanbase believed to be Galette’s girlfriend or even Junior himself.
While I had either the Jacksonville Jaguars or Atlanta Falcons pegged as most likely destinations, rumors of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking an interest took flight and I even had a source with the Saints that said Junior made mention of that while at the facility at the time of his impending release.
Apparently the floodgate of negativity that was opened the days following Galette’s departure has scared some teams off and made his hot entry into free agency more of a fizzle.
According to NFL Network’s Albert Breer the only team to show a public and serious interest so far has been the Washington Redskins.
In the report by Breer, the Redskins will bring Galette in today for a physical and he’ll meet with coaches and others from the organization.
John Keim of ESPN.com wrote that the Redskins could certainly use someone like Galette since they are in need of some help in the pass rushing department.
Nov 2, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) escapes from Washington Redskins linebacker Trent Murphy (93) during the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
He noted that currently they only have sophomore player Trent Murphy and rookie Preston Smith on the right side of the defensive line with Smith actually being the penciled in starter currently.
But Keim also wrote that the Redskins have been diligent in making sure the right leadership is in place before they take chances on players who may be problems.
It’s also mentioned that cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Galette share the same agent and Keim said that Hall hasn’t been shy about lobbying for players to the front office before.
If the Redskins do take a chance on Galette, then he’ll be on a short leash with probably an even shorter contract(1-2 years) to test the waters.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said in a press conference yesterday that he understood Galette’s emotion following the release but probably shouldn’t have made those emotions public.
With only one visit lined up that’s a piece of advice that Junior should really have listened to……..
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