Any time he spoke to reporters requesting a progress report on his return from a previously torn left pectoral muscle, or his acclimation to his new surroundings, linebacker Junior Galette struggled to contain his excitement.
He couldn’t wait to join his teammates on the field, or to line up opposite another Pro Bowl-caliber pass rusher for the first time in his career. Most of all, Galette, who’d recorded 22 sacks in the past two seasons before falling out of favor with the New Orleans Saints, couldn’t wait to repay his new team for rolling the dice on him despite his checkered past.
Galette will not get the chance to do any of that this season, however, after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon late in Wednesday afternoon’s practice. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the diagnosis.
Galette, who had spent the previous 26 days regaining full strength in his left pectoral muscle while also learning Washington’s defense, finally had reached the point where trainers and coaches felt comfortable turning him loose in a game. He would have started on Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
But Galette’s Achilles’ tendon betrayed him as he came off of the right edge during a drill in 11-on-11 action.
“He was running around the corner and went down,” Coach Jay Gruden said. “He’s not the type of guy that would lay down if there was nothing.”
Said fullback Darrel Young, “I just heard him scream. And then they were checking him after that. It didn’t look good.”
In the roughly 80 minutes between the end of practice and the time that the Redskins learned the diagnosis, players speculated that Galette had suffered a season-ending injury. Many believed that the 6-foot-2, 258-pound linebacker had ruptured an Achilles’ tendon, but hoped tests revealed otherwise.
An hour after practice, Gruden staggered out of the trainers’ room in a daze, eyes watery and cheeks flushed. The team doctor arrived shortly after and confirmed the fears of the trainers, coaches and players – a season-ending injury that would require surgery to repair.
“We needed that man,” cornerback David Amerson said. “He definitely was going to help our pass rush. Everybody knows that a defense with a pass rush is dangerous. We had high hopes that he was going to come in and be a big contributor to that. It’s just unfortunate that something like this happens. It’s just unfortunate.”
Galette becomes the fifth Redskins player to have suffered a season-ending injury.
Starting tight end Niles Paul fractured and dislocated his left ankle in the preseason opener at Cleveland. Backup running back Silas Redd Jr. tore the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the same game.
Backup tight end Logan Paulsen tore a ligament in his right big toe early in training camp. And backup inside linebacker and special teams captain Adam Hayward tore the ACL in his right knee in the second preseason game.
The loss of Galette could hurt Washington more than any of the others. Slated to pair with outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan to give Washington a dominant pass rush, Galette would have greatly upgraded a defense that mustered only 36 sacks all of last season.
Galette’s ability as a pass rusher proved so enticing that the Redskins were willing to take a chance on him, even though the Saints tired of his clashes with teammates and off-field issues so greatly that they cut him on July 27 despite owing him $18 million guaranteed over the next two years. Washington — after conducting “extensive” background checks and face-to-face meetings with Galette – signed the linebacker to a one-year deal for the league minimum, $745,000.
Galette’s off-field issues included the January arrest for domestic abuse (a charge that was later dropped) and a 2013 video that surfaced in June and depicted Galette beating a woman with a belt during a group brawl on a beach. No charges were ever leveled against the linebacker for that incident.
Galette still faced possible suspension from the NFL, but he and the team had yet to learn of a ruling.
Galette maintained his innocence, and just on Tuesday had reiterated his gratitude to the Redskins for signing him.
“I just want to prove to them that I belong and earn my stripes,” Galette said. “It’s been a real humbling experience. They’ve embraced me from Day 1, and I want to show them what I have in store, not just in practice… . I’ve been hungry before, but now, I want it all.”
Washington now will turn to 2015 second-round pick Preston Smith and 2014 second-round pick Trent Murphy to try to fill the void Galette leaves.
Smith has recorded a sack and nine tackles in the preseason, while Murphy has added two tackles. They have started opposite one another while Kerrigan and Galette rehabilitated.
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