METAIRIE, La. -- Reggie Bush is out for the Saints' game Sunday at Chicago, the scene of his end zone somersault in last season's NFC championship game.
Bush sat out practice on Friday, and the Saints listed him as out for their regular season finale.
Aaron Stecker, who started for Bush during the Saints' past three games, also has missed practice this week with a sprained toe. He was excused from practice Friday because of a death in the family and was listed as questionable.
Pierre Thomas, an undrafted rookie who grew up outside Chicago and played in college at Illinois, is expected to start at running back for the Saints.
Bush has practiced just once during the past two weeks as he attempts to recover from a partial tear of the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The injury, which did not require surgery, was discovered after an MRI exam on Dec. 6.
New Orleans decided against placing Bush on injured reserve, hoping he could heal in time to play in either the final game of the regular season or in the playoffs, should the Saints make it that far.
To take the final wild-card berth in the NFC, New Orleans (7-8) must win in Chicago, and have both Minnesota (8-7) and Washington (8-7) lose later in the day.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
