Could Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson get any better this season? Also, in a bit of great news, former Raiders tight end Foster Moreau can breathe a little easier now.
Carlson has truly found a home with the Silver and Black. After a brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings, the 28-year-old signed with the Raiders and has since become one of the best players at his position.
Carlson is coming off his first-ever First-Team AP All-Pro selection in 2022. So, the Vegas kicker wants to ensure that it’s not the last time the national media recognizes him with this honor.
As for Moreau, he shared the best news possible. He announced on Monday that he is in full remission from the cancer that his team doctors found in late March.
Raiders’ Daniel Carlson wants to build off a successful 2022 season…
Over the last three NFL seasons, Daniel Carlson has established himself as a great kicker. Carlson has registered a field goal percentage of 90 percent or higher from 2020 to 2023. Still, the Auburn product lacked national recognition for his production.
While the Associated Press finally acknowledged Carlson, the Raiders kicker doesn’t want it to be one-and-done. He wants to improve and likely be at the top regarding the best kickers in the NFL.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Carlson said (h/t AL.com). “I missed kicks last year. There’s room for improvement in a lot of different areas, so just like any other player, each day at practice, each day in the offseason, I’m trying to get better. Especially in the offseason, I get the chance to kick more because I don’t have be to so fresh for a game coming up, so I think this is a great time for me to push myself, get a lot of reps whether it be with [long snapper] Jacob [Bobenmoyer] or just myself figuring out my muscle memory and technique and, hopefully, just continuing to improve on something I hopefully have been doing well the last few years.
“But like I said, the goal is always perfection. I might not ever get there, but that’s always going to be the goal each season.”
Carlson went 34 of 37 in his field goal attempts last season, with two of those three misses coming from 50 or more yards. The Raiders can usually count on their kicker to be automatic. He’s missed no more than three field goals in the last three seasons.
Outside of an All-Pro recognition, Carlson’s next step will be earning a Pro Bowl selection. However, it will be challenging for the Raiders kicker. Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker has held that Pro Bowl selection down for the last four seasons. Carlson will need to come with his A-game to dethrone Tucker.
Good news for Foster Moreau!
Foster Moreau spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Silver and Black. Still, this newser isn’t about what the tight end has done on the field; it’s about life and how Moreau beat cancer.
In March, Moreau announced that the New Orleans Saints medical team discovered he had Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma while conducting a routine physical. At the time, Moreau said he would put football on the sideline to beat cancer.
A few months have passed, and Moreau is heading in the right direction as he conquers this disease.
“After a few tumultuous months, I’ve been blessed with the news that I am in full remission from Hodgkin Lymphoma!” Moreau said on Twitter. “I’m so grateful to everyone who reached out to offer their love and support; our prayers were answered. From here I will continue to live my life as God intended AMDG.”
Moreau recently signed with the Saints, joining former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to give him a familiar target. The 26-year-old is also coming home after signing with the Saints.
He grew up in New Orleans and played for Louisiana State University before Vegas selected him as a fourth-round draft pick in 2019 when the team was still in Oakland.
*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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