Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Junior Galette has signed on with WashingtonTim Sharp/The Associated Press
Pass rusher Junior Galette agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins for the league minimum on Friday, according to agent Alvin Keels.
Keels wrote on Twitter that Galette would sign a deal Friday, less than a week after the outside linebacker was released by the New Orleans Saints because of off-field problems that are being investigated by the NFL.
Galette was arrested in January after an alleged domestic dispute. Charges were dropped, but the episode remains under review by the league. The NFL also is reviewing a video that shows a man resembling Galette in a fight on a beach.
"Junior is grateful for the second chance he is being afforded by the Redskins," Keels wrote, "and is looking forward to not only producing on the field but also to display the veteran leadership in the locker room (that) will help lead the Skins in a quest for a Super Bowl run."
As a player entering his sixth NFL season, the 6-foot-2, 257-pound Galette is due a $745,000 salary on a league-minimum contract.
"This deal isn't about the money," Keels wrote. "Junior feels that he has a lot to prove both on and off of the field."
Galette led the Saints with 10 sacks last season after ranking second on the team with 12 in 2013.
In 2014, Galette was a Saints defensive captain and was given a $41.5-million, four-year contract extension. But he's had his share of troubles away from the game, including back when he was kicked out of college at Temple when a relative staying with him was caught with a stolen laptop.
After his more recent issues, the Saints informed the 27-year-old Galette last week they would cut him, then made the move official Monday.
Galette visited the Redskins' training camp on Thursday – the team's first day of practice – to take a physical and meet with coach Jay Gruden and general manager Scot McCloughan.
"Obviously, he's had some issues in the past," Gruden said Thursday, before speaking with Galette. "But we like to draw our own conclusions about every individual that we bring into this building. And we'll go from there."
In April, when McCloughan was asked about signing free-agent cornerback Chris Culliver, a player with his own issues away from the game, the new GM said: "The last thing I want to do is try to embarrass this organization, bringing in these so-called 'bad guys.' I won't do that. If there is any kind of question mark that he might be a bad guy, we're not going to do it."
The Redskins, coming off a 4-12 season and their sixth last-place NFC East finish in the past seven years, are trying to find an effective pass rusher opposite outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan. Brian Orakpo left as a free agent this off-season, joining the Tennessee Titans.
Before bringing in Galette, the Redskins' top possibilities to fill that role were last year's second-round draft pick, Trent Murphy, and this year's second-round draft pick, Preston Smith.