Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo broke his right femur and was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a heavy loss to Denver.
Teammates gathered around Adebo while team doctors and trainers put an air cast on his leg. Adebo, a fourth-year player who was drafted in the third round from Stanford, waved to the cheering fans as he was taken off the field on a cart heading to the Saints’ locker room.
Amazon Prime, which was streaming the game, did not show any replays of the injury. “Any time we don’t show you a replay, you know it’s serious,” play-by-play announcer Al Michaels said.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said Adebo was expected to have surgery.
“That’s the tough part of our league is seeing things like that,” Allen said after the Saints lost 33-10. “It can be difficult.”
This injury is another setback for the Saints, who earlier that day put receiver Rashid Shaheed on injured reserve.
“He’s an explosive element to our offense,” Allen said. “He’s an explosive element to our team on special teams. So, that’s a big loss.”
New Orleans also went into the game without starting quarterback Derek Carr (oblique), receiver Chris Olave (concussion), versatile tight end Taysom Hill (ribs), center Erik McCoy, right guard Cesar Ruiz (knee), and linebacker Pete Werner (hamstring).
Adebo leads the Saints with three interceptions and 10 passes defended this season. He has also made or assisted on 52 tackles, including six in the first half on Thursday night.
