New Orleans Saints fritstillede fredag deres top pass rusher Junior Galette. Beslutningen kommer efter at Galette har været i New York til møde vedrørende hans to sager om et husspektakel og strandepisoden fra 2013.
Galette fortalte efter udmeldingen til Times-Picayune at det er “den værste beslutning Saints nogensinde har taget”.
Galette var blevet renset fra husspektakel sagen. Senere da strandvideoen fra 2013 kom frem, sendte Saints videoen til NFLs kontorer.
Galette pådrog sig yderligere en brystskade i offseason, hvilket lægerne har været delt omkring skadens omfang. Rapporter Lyons Yelling fra WWl-TV var dog overbevist om at han nok skulle klare de fysiske test.
I fully expect Junior Galette to pass his physical today. Here's his workout from a few days ago. pic.twitter.com/GfjmHmNEzE
— Lyons Yellin WWL-TV (@LyonsYellin) July 25, 2015
Galette var tydeligvis frustreret over fyringen og fortalte til Times-picayune at alt er Sean Paytons beslutning og at det er ham som tager den endelige beslutning. Galette fik beskeden via telefon fredag.
Galette gik så langt som at citere The Godfather filmene.
Like Vito Corleone said, ‘Watch for the traitors”.
Saints der har investeret mange penge i Galette, vil nu have yderligere ‘døde’ penge på kontoen for 2015 og ikke mindst 2016. Hvorvidt Saints sørger at få nogle penge retur må tiden vise.
Galette kom til New Orleans i 2010 som en undrafted free agent, og har spillet fem sæsoner i sort og guld. Galette opnåede her 128 taklinger, 31,5 sacks, to safetys og fem forced fumbles.
Nu er der yderligere pres på Saints forsvar. Saints skal nu finde en ny pass rusher og der er nu yderligere pres på rookie linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, som Saints draftede i anden runde, til at udvikle sig hurtigt. Andre alternativer til Galette snaps kunne være veteran Anthony Spencer, rookie Davis Tull, Kasim Edebali og anden års spilleren Ronald Powell.
fra NFL.com: Junior Galette-Saints relationship soured quickly
The New Orleans Saints stunned the football world last week when it was learned they planned to release linebacker Junior Galette, a team captain who had signed a $41 million extension with the team months earlier.
In truth, the two sides had been heading toward a divorce from the moment the pen went to paper. This weekend, The Times-Picayune offered up a comprehensive look at what went wrong. In the report, Galette is described as a poor teammate who “thought being captain was more so about status on the team instead of being a leader on and off the field,” according to one source.
“He stayed focused long enough to get paid, then the real Junior came out,” said a source. “Sad.”
The Saints’ locker room was described as “sour” and Galette was criticized for not leading in the same way past Saints captains had. Galette and defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick — who is no longer with the team — got in a fist fight before a preseason game. When teammates voted Galette as captain days later, some front-office officials scratched their heads.
Galette’s contract — a four-year, $41.5 million extension signed last September — also led to issues in the locker room. According to The Times-Picayune, Galette’s deal “rankled some teammates and some Saints coaches” who thought that’s Galette’s behavior began to worsen as soon as he signed the deal. Multiple team sources said the team privately held “buyer’s remorse” soon after the signing.
The league is looking into two off-the-field incidents by Galette and the Saints have grown increasingly frustrated with him. Galette was arrested on domestic violence and simple battery charges in January; the charges were eventually dropped. Galette recently met with NFL officials, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. Ultimately, the Saints decided they were better off without one of their best defensive players, despite the financial hit that came with the release.
The Saints will incur a $5.45 million cap hit in 2015 followed by a monster $12.1 million hit in 2016.
The Times-Picayune reported that Galette passed his physical on Monday and will be formally released shortly. Reports popped up on Monday morning of Galette using Twitter to harshly criticize Saints players and officials, including coach Sean Payton, though the tweets did not come from Galette’s account.
Er Bobby Richardson Junior’s afløser
Selv om Bobby kom ind i træningslejren UFA, så synes han at gøre sig bemærket
http://www.neworleanssaints.com/news-and-events/article-deshazier/John-DeShazier-Bobby-Richardson-standing-out-at-Saints-training-camp/bec63cec-bd14-49e1-b512-02a88c2a4767
Er lidt skræmmende med hans første tre år i High-School, men mon ikke han har lært lektien ?
Ja. Booby Richardson lyder meget interessant. Man læser om ham her og der, men positive termer. Så han bliver helt sikkert interessant at følge i de kommende preseason kampe. Jeg tror dog at Hau’oli Kikaha kommer til at overtage meget at Juniors produktion. Men jo flere defensive unge spillere vi kan ramme, jo bedre…. vi mangler dem.