Tag: Foster Moreau

Foster Moreau has some challenging contract incentives in 2023

Foster Moreau has some challenging contract incentives in 2023. A productive season could earn the Saints tight end another $1 million:

What are the expectations for Foster Moreau going into 2023? Many New Orleans Saints fans didn’t expect to see him so soon after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but Moreau completed treatment in the spring, signed his contract, and has already hit the practice field working to get back in rhythm with the same quarterback he’s always caught passes from: Derek Carr, his former Las Vegas Raiders teammate.

Moreau’s coming of his best season as a pro with 33 receptions for 420 yards and a pair of touchdown catches, having converted a career-high 24 first downs and played 67.6% of their offensive snaps. Here are the milestones he’ll be chasing with the Saints in 2023, earning a $250,000 performance bonus for triggering each incentive, per The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov:

  • 65% of snaps AND 40 or more receptions
  • 75% of snaps AND 40 or more receptions
  • 50 or more receptions
  • 60 or more receptions

Those aren’t low numbers to chase, but they’re not unrealistic, either. For comparison, Juwan Johnson led the Saints’ tight ends last year with 42 receptions while playing 61.6% of their snaps. They’re going to be a more pass-happy offense with a quarterback Dennis Allen and Pete Carmichael Jr. trust under center, and Carr is known for favoring his tight ends as receivers.

Moreau received a $3.5 million signing bonus from the Saints earlier in May as well as a $1.1 million base salary (meaning his salary cap hit is set at just $1.8 million), so he could potentially earn as much as $5.6 million this season by maxing out those incentives. If he catches 60 or more passes while playing 75% or more of the Saints’ snaps on offense, he and the team will be thrilled to hand him a $1 million bonus.

That’s just easier said than done. Here’s some added context: last season, 12 different NFL tight ends caught 40 or more passes while playing 65% or more of their team’s offensive snaps, and only eight of them met the threshold for playing 75% or more of their team’s snaps on offense. They didn’t meet the snaps threshold, but 16 tight ends had 50 or more receptions, and less than half of them caught 60 or more passes:

  • Travis Kelce (110)
  • T.J. Hockenson (86)
  • Mark Andrews and Evan Engram (73)
  • Tyler Higbee (72)
  • Pat Freiermuth (63)
  • George Kittle (60)

Out of that final group, a select four also met the qualifications for snaps percentage: Kelce, Engram, Higbee, and Kittle. So the Saints are challenging Moreau not just to take another step forward as a receiver, but to continue to help the offense as their primary blocking tight end, too. With Johnson entrenched as a big-play threat and their top pass-catching option at tight end, he’ll have his work cut out for him.

But it’ll be tough to bet against Moreau after seeing him overcome so much adversity to get here in the first place. Having an established connection with Carr certainly helps his case.

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LOOK: Foster Moreau logged first practice with Saints since cancer diagnosis this week

Moreau signed with the Saints after the team’s medical staff diagnosed him with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during a visit in March.

One of the best stories to follow in the entire NFL this fall will come from New Orleans.

Former LSU tight end [autotag]Foster Moreau[/autotag] signed with the Saints this offseason just two months after he was diagnosed with cancer. Moreau, who previously played for the Las Vegas Raiders, was participating in a workout on a free agent visit with the team when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma by the medical staff.

Moreau received a positive prognosis, and the Saints later offered the New Orleans native a contract. He plans to play in 2023, and he took the practice field for the first time with his new team this week.

His return to his hometown also reunites him with his former quarterback Derek Carr, who the Saints signed this offseason.

Moreau, who played at LSU from 2015-18, will certainly be a player to watch this season as he makes his courageous return to the field.

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Foster Moreau fully participating at Saints organized team activities

Foster Moreau was present and fully participating at New Orleans Saints organized team activities, running routes and catching passes with the other tight ends:

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File this one under “Things you love to see.” Foster Moreau wasn’t just present for New Orleans Saints organized team activities on Tuesday — he was fully participating in the voluntary workouts after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April.

Moreau has said that because his cancer was non-aggressive, he didn’t have to undergo intensive chemotherapy or radiation treatment, instead taking regularly-scheduled doses of medication specifically tailored to treat the disease. He hasn’t missed time in the weight room or the practice field, so he’s out there running routes and catching passes alongside the other Saints tight ends in his new No. 82 jersey.

Good for him. If Moreau’s feeling well enough to fully participate in offseason work now, he shouldn’t have any problems ramping up when the Saints reach training camp in late July. He’s expected to start with Juwan Johnson at tight end, doing most of his work inline as a blocker and sure-handed receiver while Johnson works from the slot as a big-play threat downfield. For now he’s just focused on picking up the offense and maintaining his rapport with quarterback Derek Carr.

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Foster Moreau talks cancer treatment, relationship with Saints and Derek Carr

Foster Moreau talked about his cancer treatment, his relationship with the Saints, and his friend and mentor Derek Carr on Adam Schefter’s podcast:

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New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau sat down with ESPN’s Adam Schefter to look back on a rollercoaster of emotions during the last few months, and how his relationship with the Saints and quarterback Derek Carr helped seal the deal on his free agent contract with his hometown team.

The way Moreau tells it, he’s “been with the Saints since Aaron Brooks.” He’s born and raised in New Orleans, having played high school football at John Ryan Stadium just ten minutes away from the Caesars Superdome in Mid-City before continuing his athletic career in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers. His relationship with the team and its decision-makers played a major role in getting this done.

Moreau says that Loomis called his agent the day after he received his diagnosis. We’ll let him tell it: “That Saturday was the physical. That Sunday, Mickey calls my agent, Joe Linta. He says, ‘Look, we still value Foster as a person, and we value him even more as a player. We would absolutely love to sign him to whatever deal we can, whatever you guys feel comfortable (with), and whenever he’s ready to play, we’re excited to have him regardless. We’re going to keep him here, we’re going to keep him at home.’ And for me, that just spoke volumes.”

His specific cancer is much more treatable than most. Moreau shared that he’s been diagnosed with Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, or NLPHL, which is a non-aggressive cancer detected in 3 to 5% of patients. And it can be managed by infrequent medicine doses, not rigorous rounds of radiation or chemotherapy.

“My schedule was looking like this,” Moreau reflected, “I finished (treatment) Tuesday. I signed Wednesday, and Thursday I was out running routes with my quarterback, and my receivers, and my running backs at the Saints’ practice facility at 7:30 in the morning.”

Now he’s on track to practice with his teammates at organized team activities later in May and June, though Moreau’s doctors are advising him on how to best progress and ramp up his activity level. That he’s able to treat his cancer so well is remarkable, and it’s not a blessing he’s taking lightly.

And that last part means a lot — Moreau says that Carr has been one of his closest friends and mentors in the NFL. He recalled one meeting during his rookie year in which Carr addressed a room full of first-year players: “Derek told all of us, ‘You only get this chance once, please make it count, and don’t make it count for anyone other than you.’ It was so powerful for me. I remember where he was sitting. I remember how he said it. Just a special guy and a special leader. I’ll always be, I don’t know if indebted is the right word, but I’ll have a massive amount of reverence for especially the man, but obviously the player.”

As Loomis himself pointed out, the Saints valued Moreau so highly because they believe he’s a very good football player. But all of these human connections matter. Having those bonds and relationships to lean on and keep people together when adversity strikes is vital. Now that he’s putting this medical scare behind him, any adversity Moreau sees on the football field might pale in comparison.

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Foster Moreau has chosen his New Orleans Saints jersey number

Foster Moreau has chosen his Saints jersey number — going with the same number he wore at Jesuit High School in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood:

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This is cool: New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau has chosen his new jersey number after signing with his hometown team, and it’s the same designation he used at Jesuit High School in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood: No. 82.

It’s a number that only recently became available after Adam Trautman requested a trade that sent him to the Denver Broncos during the 2023 NFL draft. Moreau’s new number is listed on the team’s official website roster, though it’s subject to change as other numbers open up later this summer during roster cuts.

Moreau had previously used No. 87 in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders after wearing Nos. 84 and 18 in college for the LSU Tigers, so this is a meaningful move for him. He’s getting a new start with a new team and a new lease on life after receiving a diagnosis for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March, only to respond well enough to treatment that he’s expected to get on the field when the Saints gather for organized team activities later this month.

It makes sense for Foster to go with a new jersey number than what he’s previously used in the NFL. That it’s the same number he wore in high school at John Ryan Stadium just ten minutes away from the Caesars Superdome might make it a little more special.

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Mickey Loomis reflects on emotional journey that brought Foster Moreau to the Saints

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis reflected on the emotional journey that brought Foster Moreau back to New Orleans:

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The New Orleans Saints energized a lot of fans by signing tight end Foster Moreau as a free agent, and it’s easy to see why: he might be the best comeback story in the NFL after receiving a life-changing diagnosis for Hodgkin’s lymphoma during a routine physical with the team back in March.

Two months later, though, Moreau has undergone treatment and received clearance to get back on the field and continue his career. General manager Mickey Loomis acknowledged the high-strung emotions of the situation while speaking with local media at the Saints Hall of Fame golf tournament on Monday, but he was careful to remind everyone that there’s real value to the team in signing Moreau.

“First of all, we brought him in because he’s a good player,” Loomis cautioned, noting that isn’t just a feel-good story about bringing a player back to his hometown. “Versatile, well-rounded tight end. The fact that he’s from New Orleans, and has a history at LSU and here (at Jesuit High School), really had nothing to do with our interest in him.”

Moreau developed into a favorite target of Derek Carr’s when they were together on the Las Vegas Raiders, consistently winning on contested-catch opportunities and fighting for yards after the catch. He can block well, too, and he should add some elements to the Saints offense that they’ve been missing.

Still, at the end of the day this is an important chapter in someone’s life, and Loomis admitted as much. He’s as happy as anyone to see things turn for the better for Moreau so that he could get where he is now.

Loomis continued, “That’s emotional. To come take a physical and discover something that’s is unexpected, I know that’s tough on him and his family. And yet they’ve handled it beautifully. The great news is that the prognosis is good, and even the treatment protocol that he’s going to be under is going to allow him to do some things this offseason and hopefully play in the fall.”

So could Moreau be on the field when the Saints regroup for organized team activities later this month? Maybe so, but his doctors could advise him to take it slow and make sure his body has fully recovered from rigorous cancer treatment before putting himself under physical stress so soon. The Saints aren’t going to rush him into the first phase of drills with his new teammates, but they aren’t going to put any limitations on him, either.

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Report: Rookie TE Joel Wilson did not pass his Saints physical

Report: Central Michigan TE Joel Wilson did not pass his physical, meaning he did not sign with the New Orleans Saints:

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This is a bummer: SI.com’s John Hendrix reports that rookie tight end Joel Wilson did not pass his entrance physical with the New Orleans Saints, meaning he didn’t sign with the team after all. The undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan suffered a season-ending ankle injury on a touchdown reception last November, and though he was able to complete some pre-draft athletic testing it did limit what he was able to do.

So how does this shake up the roster at tight end? The Saints expect Foster Moreau to be on the field next week after completing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier this spring, pairing him with Juwan Johnson on top of the depth chart. Second-year pro Lucas Krull is still in the mix, as is veteran free agent pickup Miller Forristall, and Taysom Hill is technically still listed as a tight end (even if he rarely lines up there).

We’ll see if the Saints sign another player here. They invited a couple of tight ends to try out at rookie minicamp this weekend in Cethan Carter (Nebraska) and Jamal Turner (Toledo), so maybe one of them makes a strong impression.

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Dennis Allen says Saints don’t anticipate ‘any limitations at all’ for Foster Moreau

Dennis Allen said the Saints don’t anticipate ‘any limitations at all’ for Foster Moreau after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma:

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared his insight on a number of topics during an interview on the Rich Eisen Show this week, including his live reaction to news that his team was signing free agent tight end Foster Moreau — who had notably received a shocking cancer diagnosis during a physical with team doctors in March.

Foster has since undergone treatment and signed a three-year contract with the team, and Allen couldn’t be happier for him. When asked for his first comments on the Saints’ new addition, Allen was all smiles.

“He’s doing outstanding,” Allen replied. “Huge shoutout to our medical group, in particular Dr. John Amoss for being able to identify this and making sure we have the proper medical treatment for Foster. I think he’s doing outstanding. And the type of treatment he’s receiving, we don’t anticipate that there’s going to be any limitations at all in terms of his ability to participate and perform, and his ability to recover, and that’s the most important thing.”

Multiple local reports say the Saints could have Moreau on the practice field when veterans report for organized team activities next week, but team doctors may exercise an abundance of caution and limit his participation to make sure he isn’t putting too much stress on his body after undergoing rigorous cancer treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. We’ll see how the plan for him ultimately plays out, but Allen certainly sounds as excited as most fans to have Moreau in New Orleans wearing black and gold.

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Saints salary cap impact of signing free agent tight end Foster Moreau

What’s the New Orleans Saints salary cap impact of signing free agent tight end Foster Moreau? His contract structure is awful clever:

What’s the New Orleans Saints salary cap impact of signing free agent tight end Foster Moreau? His contract structure is awful clever. ESPN’s Field Yates reports that Moreau’s 2023 base salary (set at $1.1 million, the veteran minimum) is guaranteed, as is his $3.5 million signing bonus. Because the Saints tacked on two automatically-voiding “ghost years” at the end of his three-year deal to further spread out the cap hits from that signing bonus, his 2023 cap hit is really just $1.8 million.

But wait, there’s more. Because the Saints already had 51 contracts on the books, signing Moreau pushed a smaller deal down beneath the threshold that counts against the cap right now, for a net cost of about $860,000. That’s a deal you make seven days of the week to get a starting-quality tight end. It leaves the Saints with more than $15 million in salary cap space, though signing their rookie draft class will push them down to about $12 million. That’s a lot of resources to work with.

Moreau’s contract has been reported to carry $8 million in total guarantees, so the remaining $3.4 million (not counting his signing bonus and 2023 salary) is probably tied up in his 2024 salary and a roster bonus which the Saints can convert into another signing bonus next offseason. It includes another non-guaranteed $3 million of incentives he can earn back through playtime and performance, which should be attainable once he’s fully recovered from treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier this year.

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Derek Carr had the best reaction to Foster Moreau signing with the Saints

Derek Carr had the best reaction to his former Raiders teammate Foster Moreau signing with the Saints:

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone happier for Foster Moreau signing with the New Orleans Saints than his Derek Carr, who he’ steaming up with again after they connected on a lot of passes together with the Las Vegas Raiders. Carr shared his congratulations when the news broke on social media, but he also commented on his team’s addition when he found out in person.

“I need to go give that guy a hug,” Carr told The Advocate/Times-Picayune’s Zach Ewing.

It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions for Moreau over the last two months. He entered free agency as one of the top options at his position, just 25 years old and coming off a career year. Then he learned he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma during a routine physical with his hometown team in New Orleans. He’s since undergone cancer treatment and begun the process to recovery, and circled back to sign with the Saints.

Now he’s playing pro football in the same city he grew up in, not far from the powerhouse high school he starred at to catch notice of recruiters with the LSU Tigers. There’s a lot of locals in his corner, but it’s great to see his quarterback is in his corner, too.

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