Saints’ Moreau could join OTAs despite diagnosis

Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff WriterMay 13, 2023, 07:26 PM ET
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- Covered the NFL since 2013
- Previously covered the Saints for the Times-Picayune and The Athletic
- Bengals beat writer for ESPN from 2016-19

METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said there’s “absolutely” a chance that newly signed tight end Foster Moreau participates in OTAs in two weeks.

Moreau, who has been undergoing treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, signed with the Saints last week after briefly stepping away from football earlier in the spring. He was diagnosed in March after the Saints medical staff noticed potential symptoms of the disease while conducting Moreau’s physical during a free agency visit.

Allen said everything since that day has only been positive considering the circumstances. Moreau was able to jump back into football just six weeks after a potentially life-changing diagnosis.

“You get this negative information that obviously impacts the young man’s life, and yet, the prognosis for recovery and the prognosis in terms of the treatment plan has all been extremely positive,” Allen said. “And so, in that way, we feel good about it.”

Although Moreau stepped away from football to go through his treatment, communication resumed with the Saints after the trade of Adam Trautman to the Denver Broncos during the draft.

“I think we knew that he was going to be cleared to participate and we felt like we were a destination that he was certainly interested in. But it’s never done until it’s done,” Allen said. “And so soon as the draft was over we had some communication. I will say that we knew where we were looking and it was just a matter of trying to get something done.”

Allen said he didn’t anticipate any issues cropping up about Moreau’s ability to participate in team activities based on what the doctors have been telling him.

A source told ESPN last week that Moreau could return to football activities next week. Allen said the Saints will defer to Moreau’s doctors for the final say.

“That’s not our area of expertise, so we’re leaning on the doctors there in terms of making a good decision there. [Saints team physician John Amoss] felt really, really positive about not only the treatment plan for him, but also his recovery and his ability then to participate,” Allen said. “So I really don’t anticipate that to be a challenge that we’re going to have to deal with. Obviously it’s a serious medical condition, so you don’t want ever to take that lightly.”

The wait could be longer to see Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who is still recovering from a toe injury that ended his 2022 season after three games. Allen announced in November that Thomas had a dislocated second toe that would require surgery.

Allen said recently on the “Rich Eisen Show” that training camp was the timeline for Thomas to return to full participation.

“There was some hardware in his foot that they took out, probably been, a week, a week and a half ago,” Allen said. “We feel good about where he is at in terms of his recovery, and when we get him out here, we expect that we’re going to get him out here and get the player that we’ve had in the past.”