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Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo broke his right femur and was taken from the Superdome to a hospital Thursday night during a blowout loss to Denver.
Teammates knelt around Adebo while team physicians and trainers placed an air cast on the leg of the fourth-year pro, who was a third-round draft choice out of Stanford.
Adebo waved to applauding fans as the cart took him from the field toward a tunnel leading to the Saints' locker room. Amazon Prime, which was streaming the game, did not show 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' 33-10 loss. "It can be difficult."
The injury is the latest to a prominent player for the Saints, who earlier in the day placed 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 es defensed this season. He also has made or assisted on 52 tackles, including six in the first half Thursday night.