Foster Moreau valuing every rep in long-awaited return to Saints practice

The final drive of the final game of a 5-12 season. That's when Foster Moreau took a helmet to his knee and rolled off the field with a devastating knee injury.

The misfortune involved in that moment shouldn't be lost on anyone, because it's certainly not lost on the tight end himself, who got into an official practice on Wednesday for the first time since the injury.

"What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger," Moreau said, standing in front of his locker this week, "and I’ve had a hell of an offseason, gotten to get closer with a lot more people, and that’s just another part of my story.”

That story is one that's certainly taken its twists and turns since arriving back to play for his hometown team. It's a story that includes a battle with cancer, which was discovered in a physical shortly before signing.

Now it's a battle to get back on the field as quickly as possible to help a Saints group that's started 0-4. Moreau's been a constant presence around the team during his extensive rehab and has taken as many mental reps as possible, but there's no replacement for being on the field.

"Right now every day … is every rep is like a day of training camp, is what I got to treat it like and every rep is extremely valuable," Moreau said. "I’m only allowed to get so many reps right now, so making each and every one count and being on the screws is exactly where I need to be.”

What the tight end can count on is a head coach who is squarely in his corner, and that was made clear early on. It'd have certainly been a reasonable move for the first-year head coach to move in a different direction at tight end rather than wait out Moreau's rehab. Instead, head coach Kellen Moore said this early on in OTAs:

“Foster is one of the all-time best," Moore said in June. "I have loved every interaction with Foster since I got here. He is everything we want in our program and so I think he’s a great example. ... He’s got a voice and you hear it in 7-on-7 periods and he’s, you know, chewing and yelling at people left and right and so it’s special, you know, I think he’s everything we want.”

That voice will now be heard on the field, not just from the sidelines, and it'll be joined by another player's in a similar situation. Taysom Hill, now listed as a quarterback on the Saints roster, also returned to practice this week after his own extended rehab from a knee injury. The pair worked closely during their rehab stints. Hill had the honor of breaking the team down after practice on Monday, while Moreau got that task to end Wednesday's practice.

The Saints have up to 21 days to add those players back to the active roster, otherwise they will be done for the year. The Saints head coach was coy on whether either player might be ready for Week 5 against the Giants, though it should be considered highly unlikely considering the amount of time both players have missed and the benchmarks they still have to clear to return to play.

"They’ve got a lot of stuff to catch up on," Moore said, "but I think it’s just good for them to knock the rust off, so to speak, get moving."

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