Junior Jovais Galette[1] (born March 27, 1988) is a Haitian born former professional American football linebacker. He played college football at Temple and Stillman. Galette was signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints. Galette also played for the Washington Redskins.

Junior Galette
No. 93, 58
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1988-03-27) March 27, 1988 (age 36)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:254 lb (115 kg)
Career information
High school:Saint Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey)
College:Temple (2006–2008)
Stillman (2009)
Undrafted:2010
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:144
Sacks:34.5
Forced fumbles:6
Fumble recoveries:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Junior Galette was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[2] After moving to the US, Galette started as linebacker for Ramapo High School in Spring Valley, New York. Following his sophomore season, Galette transferred as a scholarship athlete to Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey in 2006, an all-boys school with a history of athletic success. Galette played for the football and basketball teams as a junior and senior.[citation needed]

During his first year at St. Joseph's as a junior, he reunited with then St. Joseph seniors Devin and Jason McCourty, Galette led the football team to victory in its state Non-Public Group III title game, adding to the school's then-streak of six straight championship titles under head coach Tony Karcich. Galette continued to be a key player for the St. Joseph football team in his senior season when Galette had 70 tackles and 12 sacks at linebacker and 10 touchdowns and 41 catches for 492 yards at wide receiver, capping the season with St. Joseph's seventh straight state Non-Public Group III championship title under head coach Tony Karcich.[citation needed]

On February 1, 2006, Galette committed to play football for Temple University in Philadelphia, receiving a full scholarship.[3]

College career

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Freshman year

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Galette played in 11 games with nine starts as a true freshman at Temple, earning Freshman All-American recognition. During that freshman season, Galette made 52 tackles (32 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 1 block. In his college debut as a true freshman, Galette earned Defensive Player of the Game honors for his 9 tackles (5 solo) and 2.5 tackles for loss. Galette was ranked No. 2 on ESPN's college football plays of the week for his acrobatic punt block that led to a touchdown against BGSU. Galette lettered his freshman year at Temple.[4]

Sophomore year

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In his sophomore year at Temple, Galette played in all 12 games with 4 starts at defensive end. Galette finished his sophomore season with 41 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass breakup, leading the Temple Owls in tackles for loss and sacks. His 7.5 sacks ranked 4th among all Mid-Atlantic Conference players.  Galette was named Defensive Player of the Game for Temple's win over Miami, in which he led the defense with 6 tackles, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. Galette was named Mid-Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week (October 22, 2007). Galette lettered his sophomore year at Temple.[4]

Junior year

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Galette continued to lead Temple's defense in his junior year, starting at defensive end. Galette finished his junior season with 46 tackles, a team-best 10 tackles for loss, a team-best 7.5 sacks, three break-ups, a hurry, and a forced fumble. In Temple's win over Navy on November 1, 2008, Galette led the Owls with a career-high 11 tackles, including 6 solo takedowns and a break-up, holding Navy to its lowest point total in 4 years. Galette was named Defensive Player of the Game against Navy and Central Michigan. Galette earned Temple Athlete of the Week honors for his performance against Ohio. Galette was honored with Second-team All-Mid-Atlantic Conference in 2008. Galette lettered his junior year at Temple.[4]

Following his junior year, Galette was dismissed from the team for making "boneheaded mistakes" and for hosting a cousin who was arrested for stealing a laptop computer.[2]

Senior year

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Galette transferred to Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for his senior year. Galette was honored as a First-team All-American for his senior year performance at Stillman and was invited to participate in the NFL's rookie combine.[citation needed]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+34 in
(1.87 m)
257 lb
(117 kg)
33 in
(0.84 m)
9 in
(0.23 m)
4.77 s 1.68 s 2.77 s 4.16 s 7.04 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)
9 ft 5 in
(2.87 m)
25 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[5]

New Orleans Saints

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Galette was not drafted in the 2010 draft and signed with the Saints as a free agent. His energetic play made him a fan favorite during the preseason, and after he blocked a punt and registered two sacks in the Saints' final preseason game, Galette was selected for the Saints' 53-man regular season roster in 2010.[6][7]

In the 2013 season, Galette signed a 3-year deal worth up to 9 million dollars. Galette became the team's regular starter at outside linebacker under new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and posted a breakout season with a team-high 12 sacks.[8]

On September 3, 2014, Galette signed a four-year contract extension worth $41.5 million.[9][10] He was selected by teammates as one of the defensive team captains for the 2014 season and played all 16 of the Saints' games that season and ended up getting 45 total tackles, 10 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.[11] On July 24, 2015, Galette was officially released from the team.[12]

Washington Redskins

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On July 31, 2015, Galette signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins.[13] On August 26, after completing training camp, it was announced that he tore his left Achilles tendon a week prior to the first game of the season and would spend the entire 2015 season on the injured reserve list.[14] He was placed on the injured reserve list on August 31.[15] On November 16, 2015, Galette was suspended for two weeks[16] for violating the league's personal conduct policy, coming from the domestic violence incident back in January.[17]

Galette rehabbed the left Achilles and signed a one-year, up to $4 million deal for the upcoming 2016 season on March 15, 2016.[18] It was announced on July 25 that Galette tore his right Achilles tendon and missed the entire 2016 season.[19] Galette rehabbed again and signed another deal with Washington, agreeing to play in 2017 for the veterans minimum. Galette outperformed the minimum deal, recording 3 sacks and ranking 3rd in the NFL in quarterback pressure rate, as a sub-rusher appearing in all 16 games. 

On February 1, 2017, Galette re-signed with the Redskins on another one-year contract.[20] Galette did not appear on Washington's injury list at all during the 2017 season. Following the 2017 season in which Galette had 3 sacks, Washington withdrew its offer to Galette after disagreements over salary.[21]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2010 NO 4 4 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2011 NO 16 19 11 8 4.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2012 NO 12 20 17 3 5.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2013 NO 16 40 28 12 12.0 1 2 13 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
2014 NO 16 45 33 12 10.0 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
2015 WAS 0 Did not play due to injury
2016 WAS 0 Did not play due to injury
2017 WAS 16 20 14 6 3.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
Career[22] 80 148 107 41 34.5 6 2 13 0 0 0.0 0 0 6

Personal Life

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In 2022, Galette sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging racial discrimination and blacklisting after he spoke out against racism in the league. Galette claimed his contract offer from the Washington Commanders was rescinded due to his social media posts. He also argued that white player Trent Murphy received a higher contract despite similar qualifications. A federal judge dismissed the case, citing a lack of evidence for racial bias or First Amendment violations. Galette has appealed, but the case underscores ongoing concerns about racial discrimination in the NFL. [23]

References

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  1. ^ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ a b "New Orleans Saints' Junior Galette finds sense of security with four-year, $41.5 million contract extension". The Times-Picayune. September 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "2006 Temple Owls Football Commits". www.on3.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Junior Galette - Football". Temple. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Scout Junior Galette College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Triplett, Mike (September 2, 2010). "New Orleans Saints' Junior Galette makes good argument for roster spot in preseason finale". Times-Picayune.
  7. ^ Nakia Hogan, "Undrafted rookie Junior Galette excited about making New Orleans Saints roster", Times-Picayune, September 3, 2010.
  8. ^ Triplett, Mike (December 12, 2013). "Exuberant Galette having breakout year". ESPN.
  9. ^ "Junior Galette: 'Best week of my life'". ESPN. September 4, 2014.
  10. ^ "Junior Galette gets $41.5M extension". ESPN. September 3, 2014.
  11. ^ "Junior Galette". NFL.com.
  12. ^ Alper, Josh (July 24, 2015). "Saints release Junior Galette". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Keim, John (July 31, 2015). "Redskins sign Junior Galette". ESPN. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  14. ^ Hanzus, Dan (August 26, 2015). "Redskins' Junior Galette tears Achilles in practice". NFL.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  15. ^ "8/31: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  16. ^ "Adam Schefter on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  17. ^ "Washington's injured Junior Galette suspended two weeks". November 16, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  18. ^ Czarda, Stephen (March 15, 2016). "Report: Redskins Re-Sign Linebacker Junior Galette". Redskins.com. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  19. ^ Keim, John (July 25, 2016). "Redskins LB Junior Galette tears Achilles, out for season". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  20. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (January 31, 2017). "Junior Galette to sign third contract with Redskins". NFL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  21. ^ Tandler, Rich (March 23, 2018). "Redskins withdraw contract offer to Junior Galette". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Junior Galette Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  23. ^ "Junior Galette files $300 million lawsuit against NFL, NFLPA, Roger Goodell". NBCSports.com. August 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
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