Just 10 months after signing a four-year extension with the Saints, Junior Galette is out in New Orleans.
According to NFL.com, the Saints plan to release the linebacker. The move is expected to be made after Galette passes his physical with the team this weekend.
Galette had been in New Orleans since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2010. After three years as a backup, Galette became a starter in 2013 and ended up starting in 28 of the Saints' 32 games over the following two seasons.
So why would the Saints cut their starting linebacker?
Here are three things to know about Galette's impending release.
1. The Saints cut Galette for two big reasons. The Saints were put in a tough situation in June when a video from March 2013 emerged that showed a man, believed to be Galette, hitting a woman with a belt.
Once the Saints found out about the existence of the video, the team sent it to the NFL for further investigation.
The video came out just weeks before Galette was set to meet with the league for a completely different incident that took place in January.
The Saints linebacker was charged with simple battery in Kenner, La., although the charges were later dropped. Despite the fact that the charges were dropped, Galette is believed to still have met with NFL officials in June.
Although the Saints held onto Galette for six months following the simple battery charge, it appears that both incidences combined were just too much for the team.
2. Galette's release is going to cost New Orleans some serious money. Cutting a guy who just signed a $41.2 million contract doesn't come cheap in the NFL and the Saints are going to find that out soon.
Galette had already been paid $18 million on his new deal and a lot of that money had been prorated into future seasons. By cutting Galette, the Saints will face $16.2 million in dead cap space, meaning he'll be eating up a large portion of the Saints salary cap even though he's no longer on the roster.
There is a sliver of good news though. According to New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Saints will be able to split that $16.2 million cap hit up over the next two seasons, although it will cost them slightly more.
Since Galette was cut after June 1, the Saints can take a $5.45 million cap hit in 2015 and then take a $12.1 million cap hit in 2016 that would cover the rest of Galette's remaining guaranteed bonuses.
3. The Saints have lost their 2014 sacks leader. The bad news for the Saints here is that they won't be returning their sacks leader from 2014. Galette tallied 10 sacks in 2014, which was almost as much as the next two players totaled combined (10.5).
On the other hand, the Saints might have been willing to release Galette because his backup has potential. Hau'oli Kikaha, a second round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, graded highly with Pro Football Focus during his final year at the University of Washington.
As for Galette, the 27-year-old linebacker is not taking the release well.