METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL, coach Kellen Moore told reporters Sunday.
Bresee's noncontact injury occurred during the Saints' first practice of training camp last week. Bresee worked with the first unit in 11-on-11 drills during that practice.
"First day. It was like a freak accident," Saints nose tackle Davon Godchaux said. "Hardly wasn't even any contact. Just really was a pass rush move and he felt his knee buckle."
Sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo last week that Bresee was feared to have a torn ACL. The injury was confirmed with further testing.
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 14.5 career sacks. The Saints recently picked up the 2027 fifth-year option on his rookie contract worth $13.9 million.
The Saints have been using veteran Nathan Shepherd and second-year tackle Vernon Broughton on the interior of the first-team defensive line in Bresee's absence.
"We need some guys to step up. Bresee just went down. We're going to need Vernon to step up. We need [John Ridgeway III] to step up. We need the whole interior to step up. And I have faith that they will," defensive end Chase Young said.
Broughton, a 2025 third-round pick, played only one game last year before missing the rest of the season with a hip injury. The Saints have given him a lot of first-team reps during their first week of camp, but Godchaux said it won't be just one player replacing Bresee.
"I mean, I think we all got to step up. ... Everybody's the guy because D-line is a position where ... you do have starters, but everybody's going to play every game," Godchaux said. "... Who's the hot hand? Some guys have their games. It's maybe a heavy run game, maybe my game, maybe a heavy ... pass game. But everybody's got to step up. Me, Vern, Shepherd, [Christen] Miller, depending on a lot on him ... Khristian [Boyd], everybody. When your number is called, you have to step up."
Bresee previously tore his left ACL at the beginning of his 2021 season at Clemson.
