Foster Moreau – Page 10 – Syndication Server

One free agent at every position the Browns should target when market opens

The free agency floodgates are almost open. Who should the Browns have their eyes on?

The floodgates of free agency are about to burst as the legal tampering window is set to begin on Monday. For the Cleveland Browns, this means they have an opportunity to make a massive impact on their roster, specifically on the defensive side of the football. They have already been linked to recognizable names who will hit the market, but they have some needs on the other side of the ball as well.

As they look to get back in the playoffs in 2023 after two years off, who is one name per position the Browns could target in free agency to improve their roster?

5 Raiders free agents that could follow Derek Carr to the Saints

The Saints may not be done adding former Raiders to the roster this offseason. Several could follow Derek Carr to the Big Easy, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

As former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr gets settled in as the New Orleans Saints new starting passer, the timeline of his signing is worth dissecting. The Saints and Carr came to their contract agreement on Mar. 6 this NFL offseason. That gave the Saints signal caller about a week to court potential free agents to join the black and gold in New Orleans. And wouldn’t you know it, there is a long list of former Raiders teammates hitting the market this offseason.

Some of which, could impact the Saints to varying degrees. From bona fide starts, to camp tryouts, New Orleans will have no issues making its new quarterback feel comfortable if he has some teammates he would like to bring along with him. As much as we’d love to highlight big-time players like wideout Davante Adams and tight end Darren Waller, it’s unlikely a trade for either this offseason would make sense. Though a trade for wide receiver Hunter Renfrow should not be considered out of the question.

But that’s for another day. Here are five Raiders free agents that could follow Carr to the Big Easy:

Rumor: Browns looking to upgrade at tight end behind David Njoku

Will the Browns poach from a rival?

The Cleveland Browns need to find more depth at tight end after the room did very little outside David Njoku in 2022. The NFL Scouting Combine is full of rumors and Dawgs By Nature’s Jared Mueller dropped some exciting bits about tight ends. The Browns are set to target the Cincinnati Bengals’ tight end potentially Hayden Hurts or the Las Vegas Raiders’ Foster Moreau to bolster the room.

Hurst had a great season with the Bengals and it would be a massive upgrade. The team wants to use fewer tight ends but with Njoku’s injury, someone good enough to start might be crucial. Hurst having only two drops this season with his ability to block and skill in the redzone would be a great addition.

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What condition the position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need at TE ahead of free agency

Assessing Raiders level of need at tight end as free agency approaches

We take a look at the tight end position for the Raiders ahead of free agency to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Returning starter: Darren Waller

Depth: Jesper Horsted, Cole Fotheringham

Free agents: Foster Moreau

Waller is one of the best in the league. Just after signing a big extension, he had a down year. In part because of injuries. But he’d proven his abilities to earn that contract, so there’s no reason to doubt he can return to form.

Waller and Moreau have been a nice one-two punch at tight end for the past few years. The man jokingly referred to as ‘Baby Gronk’ had his chance to step up and play like it with Waller missing time. And while it led to career-high numbers for the former 4th round pick, his 33 catches for 420 yards didn’t give anyone visions of the next Gronk in Josh McDaniels’s offense.

Condition: Stable

Why: It would be smart to try and keep Moreau around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped at the chance to get a solid deal to be a potential starter elsewhere. And there are several second-tier tight ends headed for free agency who could probably replace him as the bookend to Waller.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 17 vs 49ers

Plenty of Ballers in this game, but more Busters led to another late collapse.

It was the first game of the post-Derek Carr era in Las Vegas. And not only did the offense not skip a beat, it looked better than it had all season long. Meanwhile the banged up defense look as bad as it had at any point this season.

Thus how the two teams went into overtime tied at 34 and the Raiders ultimately lost 37-34.

Ballers

QB Jarrett Stidham, WR Davante Adams

Stidham was perfect to start this game, driving the Raiders down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive while going three-for-three for 58 yards and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller.

The second drive, Stidham got Adams involved. His first pass went to Adams who broke wide open for a 27-yard gain. A few plays later, Adams forced a pass interference to give the Raiders a first and goal at the five-yard-line. They would get to the one and settle for a field goal to go up 10-7.

Just before the half was up, the two had their first gorgeous connection. Stidham put it up along the left side of the end zone for Adams who caught it over a defender and tapped his toes for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-14 lead at the half.

A couple minutes into the third quarter, they connected again. Again it was for a touchdown. This time Stidham rolled out left and kept his eyes downfield with defenders closing in. All the while Adams was working to break open. Just as Stidham reached the left sideline and was about to get nailed, Adams got behind the defense and Stidham threw it to him for a 60-yard touchdown. Adams later said Stidham congratulated him on the sideline with blood in his teeth. Instant respect.

The 24-14 lead would disappear in the fourth quarter and become a 27-24 deficit. Then a 34-27 deficit with two minutes left. Then Stidham went back to work, first finding Mack Hollins for 21 yards, then throwing one up for Adams who made a spectacular adjustment and diving catch for 45 yards. A couple plays later, the Raiders tied it up at 34.

In the overtime period, Stidham dropped back and was hit as he threw, causing the ball to flutter and was picked off and returned to put the 49ers in position for the game-winner.

Stidham finished with 365 yards and three touchdowns. That’s the most passing yards by a Raiders quarterback since week 11 of the 2021 season. And matches Derek Carr’s highest TD total of any game in the past four years.

Adams had seven catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. His second best game of the season.

CB Tyler Hall

The Top Baller from last week in Pittsburgh, Hall is showing up with some big time plays of late. He had two pass breakups in the fourth quarter that helped end drives. The first was on a deep ball near the goal line. The second was at the goal line on a pass that wasn’t even to his man. He just read Purdy’s eyes and came off his man to knock down a would-be touchdown pass to George Kittle. Hall also didn’t give up a catch on 26 snaps.

TE Foster Moreau, TE Darren Waller

Moreau rebounded from a rough game in Pittsburgh to be a reliable target and blocker in this one. Waller looked to be back to his old self as well.

The first play of the game went to Moreau on a swing pass that went for 20 yards. The final play of that drive, Stidham again rolled right, this time dropping one in for Waller who had gotten behind the defense for the touchdown.

Waller’s stat line was interesting. He had three catches for 72 yards. That’s an average of 24 yards per catch. But in actually, his three catches all literally went for exactly 24 yards each.

Moreau’s second catch came in the fourth quarter. Stidham threw for him with the defender’s back turned and Moreau reached over the defender’s back and pulled the pass in for 21 yards. Two plays later, he caught one over the middle for 14 yards to set up a long field goal to tie the game at 27-27.

The 49ers answered with a touchdown to go up 34-27. Then it was Waller getting open in the end zone to force a pass interference that put them in first and goal at the one and another game-tying score.

K Daniel Carlson

Without Carlson’s big leg, this game doesn’t get to overtime. He came in and split the uprights on a 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. What a weapon he is.

Honorable Mention

CB Amik Robertson — Climbing the ladder to take a ball away from George Kittle is no small thing. That’s what Robertson did to give the Raiders their only takeaway of the game.

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How did Raiders backup QB Jarrett Stidham rock the 49ers’ NFL-best defense?

How did Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham set the 49ers’ NFL-best defense on edge in ways nobody expected? Tape tells the story.

When the Las Vegas Raiders took on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, it was probably expected that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the rookie Mr. Irrelevant who had led the NFL in passer rating (110.0) since he became the team’s starter in Week 13, would deal with the Raiders’ pass defense, which ranked dead last in DVOA. And that happened. In San Francisco’s 37-34 overtime win, Purdy completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 95.4. As has been the case throughout his improbable recent journey, Purdy did all he could to win.

What we did NOT expect in this game was for new Raiders starter Jarrett Stidham, the 2019 fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots, thrust into his first NFL start against the NFL’s best defense, to do as much. Stidham had completed 24 of 48 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 46.4 in two seasons with the Patriots.

Former New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels clearly saw something in Stidham, because soon after McDaniels became the Raiders’ head coach, Las Vegas traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Patriots for Stidham and a 2023 seventh-round pick. The only action Stidham had seen in the 2022 regular season before Sunday’s game was in Week 8 mop-up duty against the New Orleans Saints in a 24-0 loss. But with McDaniels’ decision to bench Derek Carr — a move that likely presages the end of Carr’s time with the franchise — it was now up to Stidham, who completed eight of 13 passes for 72 yards against the Saints, to create necessary explosive plays against a defense that had been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks all season long.

This can’t be overstated. McDaniels was throwing Stidham into the teeth of a defense that was ranked first in Defensive DVOA, first in Weighted Defensive DVOA, and fifth in Pass Defense DVOA, The 49ers had allowed just 16 passing touchdowns to 15 interceptions. In today’s NFL, if your defense is about even in those two numbers, your defense is amazing. And the 49ers’ defense has been that way all season long.

So, how did Stidham rock that defense with 23 completions on 34 attempts for 365 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.1, against a defense that had allowed a season-long passer rating of 82.3, third-best in the league behind the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets?

And to get granular about it, how is it that Stidham was responsible for eight explosive passing plays in this game, when he was 0-for-2 against the Saints in throws of 20 or more air yards? Against such throws this season, the 49ers had allowed 16 completions on 38 attempts for 550 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 93.6 (about middle of the pack). This wasn’t the Raiders taking advantage of a heretofore unknown weakness in DeMeco Ryans’ defense — this was the Raiders dictating to that defense in ways no other team has this season.

Interesting questions, so let’s dive under the hood and see how it came to be.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 16 vs Steelers

Some solid performances were stamped out by other glaringly bad performances in Raiders late loss in Pittsburgh.

For a (record) fifth time this season the Raiders had and blew at least a seven-point halftime lead. This time they held the lead until the final minute. But eventually scoring just ten points and zero in the second half wasn’t enough and the Steelers beat them 13-10.

The Raiders offense played great as a whole for all of one drive, while the defense played great for all but one drive. Sifting through it, there were some fine performances, while the poor performances outshined them considerably.

Ballers

CB Tyler Hall

The late season free agent pickup played the hero on several drives in this game. The first time the Steelers drove into scoring range, they lined up in third and two and Hall shot through on a toss play to make the stop for a loss. He took a perfect angle, closed quickly, and even fought through a stiff arm to make the stop. The Steelers missed the field goal attempt that followed.

The Raiders made the stop on defense to begin the third quarter, but then gave the ball right back off an interception. This allowed the Steelers to once again move into scoring range. And once again, there was Hall, making the stop for no gain on a catch. They missed the 52-yard field goal attempt to keep the score at 10-3.

Still clinging to a 10-6 lead in the fourth quarter, the defense forced a three-and-out. On third down there was Hall again, knocking the pass attempt down on what would have been a first down had it been completed. It was the defense’s last stand.

LB Denzel Perryman

The first defensive stop the Raiders made it was Perryman who made the tackle for one yard to force a punt.

The Steelers got the ball to start the third quarter and were moving down the field with catches of ten, 15, and 25 yards to reach the Vegas 35-yard-line. The next play, Perryman made a tackle for loss. And the play after that, he picked off Kenny Pickett and returned it to the Pittsburgh 47-yard-line.

Perryman left the game with an injured shoulder early in the fourth quarter. When he left, the Raiders were leading 10-3. The Raiders defense would make just one more stop after that and give up two scores including the game-winning touchdown drive which featured three separate plays in which the middle of the field was wide open.

WR Hunter Renfrow

The best play of the game, featured Renfrow making an incredible concentration grab with Carr’s pass just getting past the outstretched arms of Cam Sutton. Renfrow then stayed in bounds, sidestepped a defender and dove into the end zone for the opening drive touchdown. Gorgeous play all around.

Renfrow wasn’t done though. He had three catches in the third quarter, including two third-and-Renfrow catches. One in which Carr rolled right trying to find and open receiver and Renfrow broke off his route to get open for the conversion. The other went for 11 yards on third and nine. Unfortunately neither of those drives went any farther.

LT Kolton Miller

He offered Carr great protection from the left side, only giving up one run stuff on the day. He also had a key block on a 12-yard Josh Jacobs run on the Raiders’ touchdown drive to open the game.

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Raiders Week 11 snap counts vs Broncos: 9 offensive starters go wire-to-wire

9 Raiders offensive starters go wire-to-wire in OT win over Broncos

Injuries have put the Raiders offense in a position where they don’t have a lot of options to switch out. That means they need to hope whoever starts the game can go the distance. And that’s just what they got Sunday — even with the game going to overtime.

Nine of the team’s 11 starters went wire-to-wire Sunday.

Three offensive starters were out injured for the game — wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, tight end Darren Waller, and left tackle Kolton Miller.

The result was the Raiders keeping Davante Adams and Mack Hollins on the field the entire game. Adams played all but one snap and made the game winning touchdown catch in overtime.

Waller’s absence had Foster Moreau on the field for the entire game. He made the catch just prior to Adams’s game-winner. And he helped out with blocking due to Miller being out.

It was Jermaine Eluemunor moving to left tackle to replace Miller and Thayer Munford who started at right tackle. Had either been injured, it would have meant Jackson Barton coming in on offense. As it stood, Barton played only on special teams.

Only five other players saw time on offense — four of them were running backs.

Offense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Mack Hollins	WR	66	100%	2	7%
Alex Bars	G	66	100%	5	17%
Dylan Parham	G	66	100%	5	17%
Thayer Munford	T	66	100%	5	17%
Foster Moreau	TE	66	100%	5	17%
Jermaine Eluemunor	G	66	100%	5	17%
Andre James	C	66	100%	0	0%
Derek Carr	QB	66	100%	0	0%
Davante Adams	WR	65	98%	0	0%
Josh Jacobs	RB	53	80%	0	0%
Keelan Cole	WR	44	67%	4	14%
Jakob Johnson	FB	22	33%	10	34%
Ameer Abdullah	RB	11	17%	15	52%
Brandon Bolden	RB	3	5%	19	66%
Defense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Maxx Crosby	DE	64	100%	6	21%
Trevon Moehrig	FS	64	100%	0	0%
Rock Ya-Sin	CB	64	100%	0	0%
Duron Harmon	SS	62	97%	5	17%
Jayon Brown	LB	62	97%	0	0%
Chandler Jones	DE	48	75%	0	0%
Denzel Perryman	LB	44	69%	0	0%
Bilal Nichols	DT	39	61%	5	17%
Sam Webb	CB	39	61%	0	0%
Anthony Averett	CB	35	55%	0	0%
Andrew Billings	DT	33	52%	5	17%
Roderic Teamer	SS	32	50%	13	45%
Jerry Tillery	DT	23	36%	5	17%
Neil Farrell	DT	23	36%	0	0%
Clelin Ferrell	DE	22	34%	6	21%
Tyler Hall	CB	18	28%	1	3%
Amik Robertson	CB	16	25%	4	14%
Isaiah Pola-Mao	FS	8	12%	17	59%
Tashawn Bower	DE	4	6%	9	31%
Luke Masterson	LB	3	5%	24	83%
Special Teams				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Matthias Farley	FS	0	0%	24	83%
Darien Butler	LB	0	0%	23	79%
Curtis Bolton	LB	0	0%	18	62%
Jesper Horsted	TE	0	0%	13	45%
Brittain Brown	RB	0	0%	11	38%
DJ Turner	WR	0	0%	11	38%
Daniel Carlson	K	0	0%	10	34%
Trent Sieg	LS	0	0%	9	31%
AJ Cole III	P	0	0%	9	31%
Lester Cotton	G	0	0%	5	17%
Jackson Barton	T	0	0%	5	17%
John Simpson	G	0	0%	5	17%
Malcolm Koonce	DE	0	0%	1	3%

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 vs Colts

As Week 11 approaches, we look back at the Ballers & Busters for the Week 10 debacle vs the Colts

Many of you have probably already moved on from the Raiders loss to the Colts last Sunday. Normally Ballers & Busters comes out early in the week, but coming down with a vicious cold on Monday put a kink in that for me, so here we are the day before their next game.

Better late than never, right? For posterity?

The way the Raiders got their two wins this season were by putting together a full four quarters. In most of their six losses, they were shut down for a full half of football. Whether that was a slow start or a late collapse. This one was a bit of both.

In the end they were still shut down for a half of football. It was simply split up between the first and fourth quarters. Hence, the slow start AND a late collapse. They were decent in between, but that won’t get it done.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

As is often the case, Crosby was the best player on the field in Silver & Black. He had a run stop for no gain on the Colts’ final drive of the first quarter to hold it to a field goal.

Then he ended the Colts’ first drive of the third quarter by sacking Matt Ryan on third and one. The 14-yard loss resulted in a 48-yard field goal attempt that missed off the right upright. The play energized the offense and they drove for a touchdown and their first lead of the game at 14-13.

The Colts’ first drive of the fourth quarter was a three-and-out with Crosby making the run stop on third and nine. Once again, the offense responded with a go-ahead score. Even though in both instances, their lead didn’t last long.

P AJ Cole

Cole was launching rocket shots all game long. His punts traveled 50, 67, 61, 54, and 62 yards for an average of 58.8 yards per punt. Only one of his punts was returned past the 20-yard-line.

TE Foster Moreau

The first touchdown of the day for the Raiders was Moreau making a diving grab with a defender draped all over him. But it was also Moreau who got the Raiders in scoring range in the first place. He made the longest catch of the game for the Raiders at that point, taking a short pass for 21 yards. Then with the Raiders at the Indianapolis 36, he laid the key block to spring Josh Jacobs on a 22-yard run.

In the third quarter, the Raiders went on their second TD drive with Moreau perhaps making the key play on the drive. On second and 20, Moreau caught an 18-yard pass. They converted the third and two and scored the TD two plays later.

It’s a shame his day ended with a ball hitting both his hands in the end zone on what would’ve been the game-winning touchdown. But the moment the ball got there, it was swatted out by LB Bobby Okereke.

RB Ameer Abullah

Abdullah would’ve had an even bigger day than his four catches for 33 yards had Derek Carr not missed him wide-open over the middle late in the first quarter leading to a three-and-out.

As it stood, Abdullah had several third-down catches, converting on two, and putting them in 4th and one on the other which they converted.

He also returned a kickoff to the 38-yard-line.

WR Davante Adams

Finished with nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Much of his yards came on his touchdown from 48 yards out.

Probably his most impressive catch came on the Raiders’ final drive. On third and eight, he took the pass in the right flat, broke a tackle, and dragged defenders for several yards to pick up the first down. Later in the drive, he made a catch, broke a tackle, and took it for 16 yards to the 19-yard-line.

Honorable Mention

CB Sam Webb – Kept most catches in front of him. Finished with a team-leading two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

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Fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em: Week 11

Here’s a look at some start/sit decisions in Week 11 of fantasy football.

After we saw two rookie wide receivers explode in primetime on Thursday night, it’s time to take a look at some tough start/sit decisions fantasy football manager will have to face in Week 11.

Teams on a bye in Week 11 include the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.

Doing start/sit articles can be a little challenging. The players featured on the list below should not be taken as “must starts” or “must sits.” Instead, these are more suggestions on what we believe managers should do with fringe players heading into the weekend. The choice is ultimately up to the manager.

Just because a player is listed as a “start” doesn’t mean he should be put in the lineup over the secure, bona fide studs. Vice versa for the “sits.” If there’s no better option on the waiver wire or the bench, a manager shouldn’t automatically sit the player. That’s why these can be tricky waters to navigate.

You also can check out our start and sit bench list for Week 11: