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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said he rarely does anything without his "eyes being wide open and doing a lot of reflection." He said some people would probably say he's too slow to act at times. But the mistake the Saints made by signing embattled linebacker Junior Galette to a four-year, $41.5 million contract extension just 10 months before cutting him loose is one that Loomis said he'll have to reflect on even further. "I've got to say, 'Hey, what could we have done differently? What were the red flags that we missed or that I missed?'" Loomis said Wednesday night, making his first comments since the team released Galette on Monday after a series of off-the-field issues. "Look, we signed that contract last September, and I thought this was a player that's had a lot of production for us and felt like the arrow was pointing up. At the time, I thought this was a good deal for us," Loomis said. "It's unfortunate what happened, and we just have to move forward from that. And look, we're equipped and accustomed to dealing with adversity and overcoming it."  Loomis and Saints coach Sean Payton held news conferences Wednesday, when the Saints reported for the start of training camp. Galette's release dominated the conversation. Payton also admitted "it's not easy" to admit such a big mistake -- not to mention leaving a hole in the defense and swallowing a salary-cap hit of more than $17 million over the next two seasons. "Yet, at the same time, the mistake magnified there is pretending that it doesn't need to be done if you feel like it needs to be," Payton said. "Obviously, it became a decision about the team." Galette's issues snowballed from character clashes with teammates in the locker room last season to off-the-field allegations of violence this offseason. None of the incidents resulted in legal charges. The most recent issue was the emergence of a video that appeared to show Galette hitting a woman with a belt during a group scuffle on a beach in 2013. But Loomis said he wouldn't characterize that as the "last straw." "There was a variety of things that impacted [the decision]," Loomis said. The move probably could have been made much sooner, but there were a number of reasons the Saints waited so long. For one, they couldn't afford the cap hit until after June 1; now they're able to push a $12.1 million hit onto next year's cap instead. Also, Galette suffered a pectoral injury in the summer, and Loomis said the Saints needed to wait for him to heal up enough to pass his physical. Last but not least, the Saints waited as long as possible to see if the NFL would hand out any discipline against Galette. "We were hoping that process would finish before we started training camp," Loomis said. Loomis said he doesn't have any plans to pursue a refund on any of the bonuses already paid out or guaranteed to Galette, pointing out, "We've given up a number of those rights by terminating his contract." Loomis and Payton also stressed they wish Galette well and appreciate what he did for the team in his five years since emerging as an undrafted free agent from Stillman. Payton said he feels frustration that things didn't work out.
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