Two months after being diagnosed with cancer, New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau was a full participant to open organized team activates.
On March 22, Moreau, 25, announced he'd been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, spotted during a free-agent visit with the Saints. After receiving treatment, he signed a three-year deal with New Orleans, his hometown team. Now he's on the practice field.
Tuesday, Moreau agreed with the "miraculous" description of his circumstances, from finding cancer on a free-agent physical to being cleared to practicing in such a short timeframe.
"It's certainly close to that," he said, via the team's official website. "I'd say being here, at this stage, is probably more miraculous. But being home, reunited with Derek (Carr), that's probably not nearly as miraculous."
Saints team physician Dr. John Amoss discovered an enlarged lymph node in Moreau's left clavicle during a visit with the team. The tight end said he underwent 6-7 hours of drip infusion for one day about six weeks ago. Thereafter, he received medication fed in shots through his stomach.
The 25-year-old said he'll have a PET scan in the next few weeks.
"My quality of life did not change," he said. "I'll continue to fight this as long as I need to and as many times as I need to fight this and then go back into remission I will, and that'll be a life sentence for me. But in terms of the struggle that I had to face, was more mental than anything. The real heroes are the kids in the children's hospitals that are really fighting with real chemotherapy, real radiation. Those are the strong ones."
It's slightly stunning that Moreau could participate in voluntary OTAs with his new club two months after the diagnosis. But whatever helps him through the process is the right course of action.
Carr, who reunited with Moreau in New Orleans after four seasons with the Raiders, praised the tight end's mental toughness.
"But I don't want to undersell what that man just walked through," Carr said. "It's pretty scary news and a pretty scary thing to go through and for him to be out there already, I'm not going to get into his business but it's pretty miraculous. I know he's thankful.
"We were praying for him, he called us pretty early when he found out and he asked my wife and I to pray for him. Obviously, we do, because we're family. I'm just happy that he's out there and doing something that he loves to do. The fact that we get to play together is pretty cool, too."
