Linebacker Junior Galette had every reason to believe he would remain a member of the New Orleans Saints defense after his domestic violence charges stemming from a January arrest were dismissed and it probably would have. Then, this video turned up.
As usual when it comes to videos like this, you’ll get a violence and language warning ahead of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK7WwvZA7t4
The video appears to show a man identified as Galette swinging on a crowd with his belt like they cursed in church. When a woman approaches him by herself, he gives her a couple of swings too before exiting the scene and, thankfully, pulling up his pants.
Faces with video evidence of Galette’s self control issues and belt-waving skills, the Saints gave Galette the heave-ho. And it really hurt his feelings.
“The worst call they’ve ever made,” Galette told a New Orleans newspaper. “It was a terrible call to kick me when I’m down…”
Yes, kicking Galette when he was down was uncalled for. They should have hit him with something else. I’m sure Galette would have offered a suggestion or two.
RT @LyonsYellin: Keenan Lewis: Loss of Junior Galette 'devastating' | plus more thoughts on his former teammate | http://t.co/DBU5gtROOL
— Izz. J. W. (@IzzievsIzzy) July 26, 2015
“Who else do they have?” Galette asked the reporter rhetorically. “You tell me, who else do they have? Who knows, maybe I’ll get 40 sacks the next two seasons and we’ll reunite. The business is the business.. Like Vito Corleone said, ‘Watch for the traitors.'”
Comparing himself to an imaginary mafia murderer probably wasn’t the smartest move, but Beltman does have a point. Galette was the best pass rusher on a team that couldn’t do it very well, recording 12 sacks in 2013 and 10 last year.
As far as Galette’s plans to play for another team, he’ll probably have to wait. The NFL will still likely toss a suspension at him, regardless of the fact that he didn’t suffer any legal repercussions for his arrest. The video doesn’t help his case at all. And, you have to understand that most teams already have their salary caps set this close to camp.
Add to that the Ray Rice situation, not just for the domestic violence side of it, but the fact that Rice is still a free agent looking for a job with no takers because of the bad press involved in signing him. The Cowboys had already had to deal with the Greg Hardy situation, so they’re unlikely to take on another criminal. At least this season. Galette may be waiting by the phone for a while.
Josh Freeman’s NFL career may be over
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise quarterback Josh Freeman is back on the street looking for a job again. Friday the Miami Dolphins showed Freeman the door after signing shortly after the offseason began. He never even made it to training camp.
https://twitter.com/not_romo/status/624697032381480960
The Dolphins cutting Freeman doesn’t come as a surprise so much as I’m still shocked he can’t find an NFL team that wants him. In a league where Ryan Lindley, Chase Daniel, Shaun Hill, Charlie Whitehurst all started NFL games in 2014, I can’t understand why a team won’t sign Freeman and keep him for a while. Is there a world where you’d rather start McLeod Beth-Thompson or Sean Renfree than a guy who made the Pro Bowl in the NFL before? It’s crazy to me.
Freeman started for four seasons in the NFL and two of those seasons were legitimately good. His best was his last, 2012, where he threw for 4,065 yards and 27 touchdowns with 17 picks a year later was practically out of the league.
If I run the Seahawks, I sign Freeman and let him sit behind Russell Wilson and train him up the same way, using him as insurance a future trade bait. No one can convince me that Freeman, in that system, wouldn’t be a better fit than Tarvaris Jackson.
My lasting memory of Josh Freeman in #Dolphins jersey will be in mini-camp when he fumbled snap on 3rd-and-2 & horn sounded to end practice.
— Andrew Abramson (@AbramsonFL) July 24, 2015
It’s probably time for Freeman to head to Canada and try his luck there. Better to prove he’s still got it on the field and find your way back to the NFL later on. In a 32-team league with just 16, at most, proven quarterbacks you’d think there’d be a reluctance to toss a guy like Freeman on the scrap heap. But it happens all the time.
