TE Moreau scores 1st TD since cancer diagnosis

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau scored his first touchdown of the season Sunday in an end zone painted with the NFL’s “Crucial Catch” slogan.

The moment seemed meant to be for a player who was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year.

The 26-year-old Moreau was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma after a free agency visit with the Saints in March. Because of the early diagnosis, he did not have to go through chemotherapy or radiation treatments. His story has been featured in public service announcements for the NFL’s Crucial Catch campaign, which runs throughout October.

After catching the 6-yard shovel pass from quarterback Derek Carr with 13:10 remaining in the Saints’ 34-0 win, Moreau emphatically spiked the ball in celebration.

“That’s a gutsy call,” Moreau said after the game while sporting a Crucial Catch shirt. “I loved it. I loved every second of it. I haven’t gotten to see it yet. I kind of blacked out and forgot what happened. Crucial Catch month and I spiked the ball into oblivion.”

His one mistake? Not keeping the ball.

“I had no idea where it was,” Moreau said. “Didn’t think about it for a single second until I got back into the locker room and said, ‘Oh wow. That was dumb.’ Eh, doesn’t matter.”

At the time of his diagnosis, Moreau said he was showing no symptoms, but Dr. John Amoss, the Saints’ team physician, noticed enlarged lymph nodes during Moreau’s physical.

“I didn’t have to do it: no chemo, no radiation. How lucky was I? Extremely,” Moreau said. “I’m not the hero here; the heroes are the kids. I just now have a platform to help and be a voice. But no one should look at me and say, ‘This guy, how tough is he?’ No, no, no. I sat on the IV. I did my thing.”

Moreau stepped away from football to undergo treatment and signed with the Saints in May.

“I’ve never felt a more active hand of God waving over me than I did in those moments when I was talking to my oncologist,” Moreau said. “Like, ‘Hey, you’re going to be OK. You’re not going to do chemo, you’re not going to do radiation, and this is going to work.’

“So I finished my month of treatment … and then a month and a half, two months later, I went for my second PET scan and I was out playing pickleball when I got the … report on my phone. I went and I checked and I didn’t see any bright yellow spots pop up. I kind of read the doctor’s report and I was like: ‘What a miracle.”’

Moreau said he feels lucky to be in the position he’s in now, especially after so many uncertainties in the spring.

“I couldn’t imagine seeing the bills that I saw and the money I still had to pay,” Moreau said. “It would suck for anyone. And it does.

“I’m doing all right and I still see [those bills] and my heart … sunk. Because I’m not with a team, I’m a free agent, I’m not doing anything and I’m just trying to beat cancer. … Real heroes [are] kids that have nothing wrong, that did nothing wrong other than just living and breathing.”