Rumor: Browns in play for linebacker Junior Galette
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns are reportedly interested in linebacker Junior Galette, who has seen his game slip after suffering a pair of Achilles injuries.
The Cleveland Browns have been busy reinforcing their roster, most notably in the secondary.
Even with a flurry of moves to add 11 players to the team, general manager John Dorsey is still sitting on almost $75 million in available cap space, according to overthecap.com.
Agents throughout the NFL know that, of course, so it is no surprise when reports come out linking any and every available free agent to the Browns. The latest, courtesy of Chick Hernandez of NBC Sports, says that the Browns may be interested in linebacker Junior Galette:
Per source, the Redskins have withdrawn their latest offer to Junior Galette. Several teams remain in play including Cleveland and a reunion with Scot McCloughan who originally brought the edge rushing specialist to Washington. The Rams have also had discussions. #redskins
— Chick Hernandez (@MrChickSports) March 23, 2018
The potential tie between the Browns and Galette is two-fold: he played under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with the New Orleans Saints in 2010 and 2011, and was signed by Scot McCloughan as a free agent in 2017 when McCloughan was still general manager of the Washington Redskins. McCloughan is not a draft consultant with the Browns.
Galette was a pass-rushing force in 2013 and 2014 for the Saints, totaling 22 sacks in 28 games.
He missed the 2015 season with a torn right Achilles and then tore his left Achilles a week before training camp in 2016, knocking him out for the second consecutive season.
Galette spent those two years refining his game, working on his technique and losing weight in an attempt to show that he could be the same player after the injuries, he told ESPN in a story last August:
"“You want to pave that route. I don’t think anyone has come back from two and played at the level they were at before. That’s definitely something to use as motivation to keep me going.”"
The stats did not back that up, however, as Galette finished the season with just three sacks, but he did play in all 16 games.
The Browns can never have enough pass rushers, but the Browns have Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib and Chris Smith, and will likely add another pass rusher in the 2018 NFL Draft, which might make it hard to find a spot on the roster for Galette.
Next: Browns first-round mock draft
So while Galette’s recovery is a good story, a one-dimensional player who can no longer provide that dimension may make it easy for Dorsey to take a pass, even with Galette’s ties to Williams and McCloughan.