Washington gave Junior Galette three years worth of prove-it deals. Now they’re providing a clear path to the door.

The veteran pass-rusher said during an interview with 106.7 The Fan that he expected to test free agency this year, since he hasn’t had an offer so far from the Washington front office.

“I haven’t spoken to them personally,” Galette said, via the Washington Post. “But speaking to my agent, Drew Rosenhaus, . . . he just basically said they’re pretty much gonna let me test free agency, because I’m pretty sure that if it was the other way around, I think they would have offered me a deal and nothing has been offered. There’s nothing else left for me to believe but they want me to test free agency.”

Galette was once a top-pass rusher, with 22.0 sacks his last two years with the Saints. But off-field troubles led to his release there, and upon coming to Washington, he suffered torn Achilles tendons his first two years. He played in all 16 games last year, and had 3.0 sacks in a part-time role, which did not diminish his confidence.

“I consider myself elite,” Galette said. “You look at the numbers, it is what it is. I don’t care what you tell me. I had back-to-back [double-digit sack years] in New Orleans. I think only four players were during that span and I was on pace, had a promising career. I still do, I feel like, but pass rush is so relative. There are so many things and other variables that play into pass rush, so if you just look at my [stats] and it says that I’m top-three in the win percentage and the sacks don’t match, okay, so you look at the tape and you’re like, ‘Wait, how come the sacks don’t match?’ Well, maybe this guy deserves more playing time. If you give me more playing time, that’s how it works. In ’13, I had I think 800 snaps in New Orleans, in ’14 I think I had 750. In both those years, [I had] double-digit sacks. It just is what it is.

“That’s just how pass-rush goes. You need the opportunities. If I had made all the sacks that I missed — about eight or nine this year — I’d have double-digit sacks, but that’s almost impossible to do. … I feel like as long as you’re disrupting the quarterback, then you show that you’re really effective in just how promising that you are with getting after the quarterback.”

He said he’d prefer to return to Washington, but the fact they haven’t offered him the chance to has sent him a signal, and is about to send him into the market weeks before his 30th birthday.