The Sports Xchange

Junior Galette reportedly passed his physical with the New Orleans Saints on Monday and was set to be released.

The team’s intent to cut the pass rusher was learned last Friday. He had to pass a physical first, and he told The Times-Picayune on Monday that he passed the exam. He had been recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.

Galette, who has 22 sacks over the past two seasons and just signed a four-year, $41.5 million contract last September, is being investigated by the NFL for two alleged assaults.

The NFL has talked to Galette about his arrest in January for domestic simple battery, and the league is now investigating a 2013 video that purportedly shows Galette striking a woman with a belt during a scuffle in South Beach, Fla.

Galette, 27, was not charged in the domestic violence incident, which allegedly took place on Jan. 5 at his home in Kenner, La.

The beach video came to light last month, and the Saints forwarded it to the NFL.

On Friday, Galette told The Times-Picayune the decision by the Saints is “the worst call they’ve ever made. It was a terrible call to kick me when I’m down.”

The legal issues weren’t the only reasons the team decided to part ways with Galette, according to The Times-Picayune, which reported that his attitude and behavior changed for the worse after he signed his contract.

He got into a fight with a teammate before a preseason game last year but still was voted captain a few days later, the newspaper reported. The team then signed him to the extension, and sources told The Times-Picayune that the team quickly regretted the decision.

Said one source: “He stayed focused long enough to get paid. Then the real Junior came out.”

Galette joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and had 12 sacks in 2013. He tallied 10 sacks last season.

Galette will cost the Saints $5.45 million against this year’s salary cap and $12.1 million next year.