The New Orleans Saints fear newly signed wide receiver Dez Bryant tore his Achilles tendon on the last play of practice Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
News of Bryant’s injury was first reported by NFL Network.
Bryant, 30, only joined the Saints on Wednesday after agreeing to a one-year, $600,000 deal. He had been on the open market since he was released by Dallas in April, when he was due to receive $12.5 million.
Earlier on Friday, Saints coach Sean Payton had declined to announce any decision on whether Bryant would play Sunday against the Eagles.
When asked how Bryant had been looking, Payton said, “Good. I mean, listen, there’s a lot that he’s learning, a lot going on. Just getting him up to speed as quickly as possible.”
But Bryant’s injury would change any plans to put him into a game immediately. Without Bryant, the Saints could turn back to veteran receiver Brandon Marshall, who impressed New Orleans during his workout this week.
The Saints placed receiver Cameron Meredith on injured reserve Thursday, after also placing receiver Ted Ginn Jr. on IR last month.
New Orleans (7-1) has won seven straight games and ranks second in the NFL in scoring.