Saints starting DT Bryan Bresee to have season-ending ACL surgery - ESPN

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