Oakland Raiders rookie tight end Foster Moreau will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury in Sunday’s 42-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans, head coach Jon Gruden announced Monday.
“It’s a big loss to our team, no doubt,” Gruden said of the player who leads NFL rookie tight ends with five touchdown catches.
“Knowing Foster, I don’t believe it will be anything that will keep him out of next year, but I’m not going to make any predictions. It’s a tough injury, he’s got a lot of rehab ahead and I can’t compliment the job that he did enough. He came in here as a rookie and played good football for us and he’s going to be a big part of the Raiders future.”
The fourth-round pick out of LSU was injured when his right leg twisted awkwardly while making a catch in the third quarter. Moreau made three catches for 14 yards in the game, including a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr that tied the score at 21 with 24 seconds remaining in the first half.
Moreau, who leads the team in TD catches, made 21 receptions for 174 yards in 13 games.
Other rookies out of the lineup Sunday were running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder) and receiver Hunter Renfrow (ribs), along with veteran right tackle Trent Brown (pectoral).
Gruden didn’t provide any updates on Jacobs, the 24th overall pick out of Alabama who has rushed for 1,061 yards and seven touchdowns on 218 carries. But the coach provided an explanation regarding why it’s not likely he will shut down Jacobs, who is expected to have an MRI exam this week on his fractured right shoulder, for the rest of the season.
“We’re going to try to win the game, absolutely,” Gruden said of Sunday’s game against the 4-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, which will be the 6-7 Raiders’ last regular-season game at Oakland Coliseum.
“We’re never going to put a guy out there who can’t play. But we’re going into the last home game in the history of the Oakland Raiders. It’s an emotional time. We’re trying to win the game, we’re not eliminated from the playoffs and we’re going to try to win every single time we strap it on.”
