Foster Moreau (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional football tight end for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and played for the Las Vegas Raiders from 2019 to 2022.

Foster Moreau
refer to caption
Moreau with the Raiders in 2021
No. 87 – New Orleans Saints
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1997-05-06) May 6, 1997 (age 27)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Jesuit (New Orleans, Louisiana)
College:LSU (2015–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 4 / pick: 137
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024
Receptions:123
Receiving yards:1,450
Receiving touchdowns:15
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Moreau grew up in New Orleans and attended Jesuit High School, where he played high school football and basketball.[1] As a High School senior, Moreau caught 34 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns as the Blue Jays won the LHSAA Division I state championship. Rated a three-star prospect by 24/7 Sports and a two-star by Rivals.com, Moreau committed to play football at Louisiana State University over offers from Tulane, Mississippi State, Air Force, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, and Louisiana-Lafayette, among others.[2]

College career

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Moreau playing for LSU in 2018.

Moreau played four seasons for the LSU Tigers.[3] He played mostly on special teams with the kick return unit and as a blocking tight end in his first two seasons, with no receptions as a freshman and six for 79 yards and one touchdown as a sophomore. Moreau enjoyed his most productive season in his first full year as a starter, catching 24 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.[4]

Moreau entered his senior year on the Mackey Award watchlist, was named team captain and chosen to wear the No. 18 Jersey by the Tigers' coaching staff. In his final season, Moreau caught 22 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns and continued to play on special teams as a blocker on the field goal unit.[5] He finished his collegiate career with 52 receptions for 629 yards and six touchdowns in 49 career games (32 starts). Following the end of his senior season, Moreau was invited to play in the 2019 Senior Bowl, where he impressed NFL scouts in practice and caught one pass for 11 yards in the game.[6]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+18 in
(1.93 m)
253 lb
(115 kg)
33+12 in
(0.85 m)
9+58 in
(0.24 m)
4.66 s 1.55 s 2.72 s 4.11 s 7.16 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)
10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)
22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7][8][9]

Las Vegas Raiders

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Moreau was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round with the 137th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.[10] On May 2, 2019, Moreau signed a four-year, $3 million contract that included a $488,484 signing bonus.[11]

Moreau made his NFL debut on September 9, 2019, against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, making two receptions for 20 yards.[12] Moreau scored his first career touchdown, an 18-yard reception, on September 29, 2019, in a 31–24 win against the Indianapolis Colts.[13] He was placed on injured reserve on December 9, 2019, after suffering a knee injury the day before in a game against the Tennessee Titans. Moreau finished his rookie season with 21 catches for 174 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games played (seven starts).[14] Moreau was named to Pro Football Focus's All-Rookie team.[15]

Moreau was fined US$15,000 by the NFL on October 5, 2020, for attending a maskless charity event hosted by teammate Darren Waller during the COVID-19 pandemic in violation of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols for the 2020 season.[16] Moreau finished the season with 7 catches on 9 targets for 140 yards and two touchdowns.[17]

New Orleans Saints

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On May 10, 2023, Moreau signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the New Orleans Saints with $8 million guaranteed.[18]

Personal life

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In March 2023, during a routine physical on a free agent visit with the New Orleans Saints, Moreau was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Saints team physician Dr. John Amoss detected an enlarged lymph node on his left collarbone.[19] On March 22, Moreau announced that he would be temporarily stepping away from football.[20][21]

On May 10, after completing his treatment, Moreau signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Saints.[22] On July 3, he posted on social media that his cancer was now "in full remission."[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Foster Moreau, Jesuit , Tight End". 247Sports. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Walker, Rod (December 25, 2014). "Jesuit TE Foster Moreau commits to LSU". The Advocate. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Foster Moreau College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Shipp, Sonny (July 21, 2018). "Foster Moreau named to Mackey Award Watch List". 247Sports.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  5. ^ Froyd, Chrissy (March 24, 2019). "2019 NFL Draft: LSU TE Foster Moreau has been a 'pleasant surprise'". AndTheValleyShook.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Miller, Brody (April 27, 2019). "LSU tight end Foster Moreau picked in 4th round by Oakland Raiders". NOLA.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. ^ "Foster Moreau Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  8. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Foster Moreau, LSU NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  9. ^ "Foster Moreau 2019 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Kubena, Brooks (April 27, 2019). "Former LSU tight end Foster Moreau drafted by Oakland Raiders in fourth round of NFL draft". The Advocate. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Kubena, Brooks (May 2, 2019). "Report: Former LSU TE Foster Moreau signs 4-year, $3M contract with Oakland Raiders". The Advocate. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  12. ^ McDonald, Jerry (September 10, 2019). "Raiders' Josh Jacobs was headliner of rookie contributors, but far from the only one". The Mercury News. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Dixon, Shea (September 29, 2019). "WATCH: Foster Moreau scores first NFL TD". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Gutierrez, Paul (December 9, 2019). "Raiders rookie TE Foster Moreau lost to knee injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  15. ^ Mosher, Marcus (January 2, 2020). "Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, TE Foster Moreau make PFF's All-Rookie Team". Raiders Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Dubow, Josh (October 5, 2020). "AP source: 10 Raiders players fined for COVID-19 violations". APNews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Shipp, Sonny (January 4, 2021). "Tigers in NFL: Final regular season stats". 247Sports. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Foster Moreau: Signs with New Orleans Saints". twitter.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Saints' Moreau says cancer now in full remission". ESPN.com. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  20. ^ "Foster Moreau: Diagnosed with cancer". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Gordon, Grant (March 23, 2023). "Former Raiders TE Foster Moreau announces he has cancer, will step away from football". NFL.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  22. ^ Shook, Nick (May 10, 2023). "Foster Moreau signing three-year, $12M contract with Saints". NFL.com.
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