Washington Redskins: Junior Galette Top Free Agent Value

It’s no secret that the Washington Redskins have made some questionable moves in free agency over the years. Albert Haynesworth, Adam Archuleta, and Deion Sanders always come to mind.

Last offseason, the Washington Redskins made what looked to be a rare “great free agent” addition to the team when they signed outside linebacker Junior Galette to a one-year contract worth $745,000. Sadly, the 28-year old wouldn’t see the field in 2015 due to a torn left Achilles that he suffered in practice in late August (courtesy of ESPN).

The fact that he only signed a one-year deal, and never even played a down for Washington, didn’t seem to stop Galette from becoming a fan of the team’s fan base and culture however. In January, he revealed a tattoo of the team’s logo on his right arm. In the words of Pepper Brooks from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ‘em.”

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In the end, his loyalty did pay off, when the Redskins re-signed him to a one-year contract worth up to $4.1 million thanks to incentives.

What exactly are the Redskins getting with Galette though? Well, in 2013, the native of Haiti recorded 40 tackles, 12 sacks, and one forced fumble for the New Orleans Saints. He followed that up with a 45 tackle, 10 sack, three forced fumble campaign in 2014.

For comparison, defensive end Olivier Vernon received a five-year, $85 million contract (via Spotrac) from the New York Giants this offseason. His last two seasons he combined for 14 sacks, eight less than Galette’s most recent two-year span. Now, there are some glaring differences between the two, resulting in the opposite contracts. Vernon didn’t miss a full season, and plays a different position, but it’s impossible to convince me that the two deserve that much of a contrast between the contracts.

It’s not just stats however, it’s the passion he brings to the table that makes Galette valuable. He wants to prove he’s one of the best, and that’s evident by his constant workout videos on his Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (Sackman093) accounts.

Every team loves to have players that have that “I’ll prove the doubters wrong” mentality, and Galette’s got it in spades.

With a strong core of pass rushers beside him (Ryan Kerrigan, Preston Smith, and Chris Baker) and an underrated middle linebacking pair (Mason Foster and Will Compton) helping to plug up the middle, even I started to feel bad for the rest of the NFC East quarterbacks.

Washington’s impressive group of linebackers set up a perfect situation for someone coming off a season-long injury. He won’t be pressed to produce at an extremely high level for an entire game, because the Redskins can set up a rotation to keep him rested and healthy. The bottom-line is, Galette should flourish in Washington, and they know it.

Just look at the tweet for proof, dude’s moves are dirtier than Dirt McGirt himself. Explosive first step that usually leads to him basically stiff arming the offensive lineman on his way to a sack. He’ll fit in perfectly across from Kerrigan. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kerrigan himself (via John Keim of ESPN).

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With all the big-money contracts this offseason it’s easy to overlook a small one-year deal. Everyone will be excited to analyze how the players are fulfilling these new, big contracts. While that’s happening, Galette may just prove he was the biggest steal, and the best bargain, of the offseason.