Excitement has not been hard to come by with the New Orleans Saints starting training camp, as the NFC South appears to be wide open during the 2026 NFL season. After stacking a strong offseason on top of a great finish to 2025, Kellen Moore's team has a great chance to shake things up.
But before any positive momentum could even get going at training camp, the Saints suffered a devastating setback. New Orleans reporter Nick Underhill reported that defensive tackle Bryan Bresee suffered a serious knee injury during Wednesday's practice.
Now, injury scares happen all the time in NFL practices. But this doesn't seem to be that, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo followed up, stating that Bresee is feared to have torn his ACL, which would sideline him for the entirety of the season. What a brutal blow to a young star.
All fans can do now is hold their breath and hope for Bresee to have somehow avoided disaster.
New Orleans Saints DT Bryan Bresee feared to have suffered torn ACL
Bresee just had his fifth-year option picked up by the Saints for the 2027 season, an indication of how strongly those in the building feel about him and his future in New Orleans. But if he has indeed torn his ACL, those dreams will have to be put on hold, in all honesty, until this time next year.
Although Bresee saw his sack production dip in 2025, his prowess against the run grew, and he continued to impact the game with batted passes, run stops and incredible versatility on the defensive interior for Brandon Staley's group.
It was always a good thing that Cameron Jordan re-signed this offseason, but especially now in the wake of Bresee's potential major injury. The next men up in the rotation will be 2025 third-rounder Vernon Broughton and veteran John Ridgeway III, although they won't impact the game like Bresee.
Perhaps New Orleans feels comfortable sliding rookie Christen Miller more toward the 3-technique and can get some early run out of him. Nathan Shepherd also had a solid 2025 season and can slide around the defensive front, so he could be an option to fill the void left by Bresee as well.
Maybe Mickey Loomis will tap into the veteran market to make up for the loss of Bresee. Older players like Larry Ogunjobi, Austin Johnson, DaQuan Jones and Greg Gaines are available, so the Saints may need to kick the tires on a handful of these players and see what can shake.
In totality, this is a very disappointing update from training camp in New Orleans. If Bresee doesn't initally avoid disaster, let's hope that he has a full and speedy recovery, and that the Saints can find a way to recreate his impact this season in a crucial year.
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