Mickey Loomis reflects on emotional journey that brought Foster Moreau to the Saints
At the @HallSaints golf tourney I asked #Saints GM Mickey Loomis about signing former @JesuitNOLA @LSUfootball standout Foster Moreau.
More with Loomis on @wdsu
including his sound bite about wishing @SeanPayton was here so he could easily take $100 off him on course
😬😜😂 pic.twitter.com/VmDalrjtgw— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) May 15, 2023
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.
