Rapid Reaction: Saints Release Junior Galette
The quiet before the storm of training camp broke a couple of days earlier than Saints fans were expecting. Per a series of tweets from Saints columnist for NOLA.com, Larry Holder, the New Orleans Saints have released star linebacker Junior Galette.
I can confirm the Saints have released Junior Galette.
— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) July 24, 2015
Junior Galette recently met with @NFL officials, who are looking into 2 off-the-field incidents. #Saints have been frustrated for a while.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 24, 2015
I can tell you the Saints wanted to make this move shortly after his January.
— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) July 24, 2015
This move may come to a shock for some despite the two off-season incidents involving Galette.
He was charged with domestic abuse involving his girlfriend in January but the charge was dismissed in February.
Matters got worse when a video of him allegedly beating a woman with a belt appeared on the Internet.
The reaction from Saints fans on Twitter was overwhelming relief and a bit of dissapointment:
The #Saints are releasing Junior Galette, source said. They’ve paid him $18M since last year. Wow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 24, 2015
@LarryHolder Not surprising…honestly…good riddance. He was good when he was good, but disappeared for entire games, and his attitude sucks
— Kevin deLeon (@kevindeleon) July 24, 2015
Junior Galette has some talent. But his temperament + those totally unnecessary shots he took at former #Saints were red flags before this.
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) July 24, 2015
Junior Galette had a hunger and overcame all odds to make it in NFL. He cant forget how he got there. Hope he figures it out moving fwd.
— Scott Shanle (@scottshanle) July 24, 2015
Junior Galette was certainly becoming more trouble than he was worth but the move can’t go unnoticed from Saints fans. It’s unknown if he was a problem in the locker room, but he certainly performed on the field.
The New Orleans Saints cannot afford another bad season from their defense. How will they replace his production? What kind of financial trouble will the Saints be in because of all the dead money left on his contract?