METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee is feared to have torn an ACL on Wednesday, sources told the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
Bresee is having further testing, but a torn ACL would end his 2026 season.
The injury occurred during the Saints' first practice of training camp at their facility in Metairie. Bresee worked with the first unit in 11-on-11 drills during that practice.
Coach Kellen Moore said the noncontact knee injury "doesn't look good."
"No one kind of ran into each other, no one fell on anyone. It was just kind of a goofy deal where obviously something unfortunately happened," Moore said during an interview on WWL radio in New Orleans on Wednesday night. "It's a tough one."
Moore said Bresee didn't initially realize the severity of the injury.
"It took a little bit I think for him to realize what it felt like," Moore said. "It felt like a little bit of something, and then once they checked it out -- obviously, we'll continue to finalize all that -- but it doesn't look great."
Bresee, 24, was poised to be a key part of the Saints' interior defensive line for the third straight season. The 2023 first-round pick has started 26 games, including 15 last season, and has 14½ career sacks. The Saints recently picked up their 2027 fifth-year option worth $13.9 million.
Bresee previously tore his left ACL at the beginning of his 2021 season at Clemson.
"We obviously have to have other guys presented opportunities and certainly those guys will have to take advantage of that," Moore said. "Bryan will do everything he can to recover and come back as strong as he possibly can."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
