Junior Galette has had a free agent visit with the Washington Redskins and now he has signed with the team after getting interest from numerous other clubs following his release from the New Orleans Saints and this comes as Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy are competing for the RG3 backup job behind starter Robert Griffin III.
The Redskins reportedly hosted Galette on Thursday, according to NFL.com and reports have the linebacker gaining interest from "at least" six other teams. According to ESPN.com reporter John Keim who covers the Redskins, half a dozen teams have "reached out" to Galette, while the Washington Post's Mike Jones reports that Galette would "prefer to sign with Washington". The Redskins just locked up Ryan Kerrigan and adding Galette would give the team a very strong pass rush.
UPDATE: The Redskins have signed Junior Galette to a one year deal, per Mike Jones from the Washington Post.
The Redskins have agreed on a one year deal for Galette and he likely will get the minimum after being released by the Saints. The Redskins took a low risk option with Galette and now he has the chance to be a high upside player for the team. Kerrigan is coming in and looking to have a strong season and paired with Galette the Redskins could have a great front part of the defense. Galette is just 27 and he comes in after posting back to back seasons with double digit sacks.
According to NFL.com, Galette has not missed a game in the past two seasons and in that time, the linebacker has had 126 combined sacks, hits and hurries. Galette went for 10 sacks last season and a career best 12 the previous year. The Redskins also have Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins competing behind RG3 to be the backup. According to the Washington Post, Jay Gruden has not named a backup yet and he may wait until the preseason to officially fix up the QB depth chart.
Galette has reportedly had locker room issues in the past with the Saints and chemistry issues with the team, but it appears other clubs are not worried. Galette has been productive and as Greg Hardy has shown, when a player is productive, off the field issues can slip by the wayside. Galette was allegedly hitting a woman with a belt in a video and he also was arrested on domestic violence charges, although the chargers did not end up going through.
Galette seemingly burned bridges with the Saints after he was released and it came after the team gave him a contract extension last year. The Saints had no real reason to do that, as he was signed for a couple more years and now the team has to handle a salary cap hit for Galette after releasing him. Galette took a physical with the Redskins and he met team officials and now a deal could get done soon if other teams don't meet the price of what Galette is looking for and the Redskins do.
