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.
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