Bryan Bresee is to undergo season-ending surgery after the New Orleans Saints confirmed that the defensive tackle tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during their opening practice of training camp.

Head coach Kellen Moore announced the decision on Sunday, four days after Bresee was injured during an early team period. No other player collided with him and the seriousness of the problem was not immediately apparent.

“No one kind of ran into each other, no one fell on anyone,” Moore told WWL Radio after the injury. “It was just kind of a goofy deal where obviously something unfortunate happened and it took a little bit, I think, for him to realise what it felt like. It felt like a little bit of something and they checked it out. Obviously, we’ll continue to finalise all that, but it doesn’t look great.”

Subsequent examinations confirmed the initial fear, meaning Bresee will miss his fourth NFL season and begin another lengthy rehabilitation, having previously torn the ACL in his left knee while playing for Clemson in 2021.

“It’s tough,” Moore said on Sunday. “Bryan played some really good football last year and had a great offseason.”

The injury removes an established starter from the centre of a New Orleans defense attempting to improve in Moore’s second season. Bresee started all 15 games he played in 2025, contributing 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and a forced fumble. His sack production declined from the 7.5 he recorded in 2024, but Bresee remained an athletic interior defender capable of disrupting passing lanes and contributing on special teams. He has twice blocked field goal attempts by hurdling the offensive line on designed rushes.

New Orleans had demonstrated its confidence in Bresee by exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in April. That decision guarantees him $13.931m in 2027, providing contractual security through his recovery while delaying any discussion of the longer extension he might otherwise have pursued. The Saints selected Bresee 29th overall in 2023 despite the injuries and personal adversity that interrupted his college career. Until this setback, he had largely answered concerns about his availability by appearing in 49 of a possible 51 regular season games. He accumulated 86 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and 31 quarterback hits across those three seasons.

Defensive end Chase Young recognised how much Bresee had invested in the coming campaign.

“It’s sad. I knew what year he wanted to have this year. I was excited for him,” Young said. “The bright side is, with ACLs now, you know you can get back.”

New Orleans must now redistribute Bresee’s work among a group containing veterans Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd and John Ridgeway. Second-round rookie Christen Miller has an earlier opportunity to earn substantial snaps, while 2025 third-round selection Vernon Broughton is returning from the season-ending injury he suffered during his first NFL game.

“That’s the cycle of the NFL in an unfortunate but opportunistic way,” Moore said. “Guys unfortunately go through things and they don’t become available, and it’s the opportunity for someone else to step up and take advantage. If Bryan is out for a while, certainly, we’re going to expect a lot of these other guys to take the next step.”

The Saints have enough bodies to fill the position, but replacing Bresee’s combination of size and movement is more complicated. His injury changes the shape of their defensive line rotation before Moore and coordinator Brandon Staley have had an opportunity to evaluate it under preseason conditions. Bresee remains under contract for 2027.

New Orleans also lost another young player from its plans on Sunday when wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk was placed on the reserve/retired list at the age of 24.

The Saints acquired Polk from New England last September while he was recovering from season-ending shoulder surgery, sending the Patriots a 2027 sixth-round selection in a deal that also brought a 2028 seventh-round pick to New Orleans. The former Washington receiver had returned to the field during training camp and was competing for a depth role before missing two practices for what Moore described as personal reasons.

Polk has not publicly explained his decision. His retirement ends a brief NFL career in which the 37th overall selection in the 2024 draft caught 12 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns across 15 appearances for New England. He did not play for the Saints after spending the entire 2025 season on injured reserve. His departure reopens competition behind New Orleans’ leading receivers, with Mason Tipton, Ronnie Bell and Brock Rechsteiner among those seeking places.