Defensive end Trey Hendrickson leads the Saints with 13.5 sacks, 71 sack yards and 13.5 tackles for loss. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Saints' Trey Hendrickson out against Bears with neck injury

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jan 8, 2021 6:19 PM ET

The New Orleans Saints will be without their top pass rusher for Sunday's home playoff game against the Chicago Bears.

As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk explained, defensive end Trey Hendrickson won't be available through the weekend due to a lingering neck issue that also kept him sidelined for the Week 16 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

It's an unfortunate blow for the 26-year-old who leads the Saints with 13.5 sacks, 71 sack yards and 13.5 tackles for loss. No other New Orleans player recorded double-digit sacks during the season.

The Saints added that guard Nick Easton is also ruled out with a concussion.

Superstar running back Alvin Kamara remains on pace to return from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Sunday ahead of kickoff. The 25-year-old who leads the Saints with 932 rushing yards, 83 receptions, 107 targets and 756 receiving yards has vowed to take the field against Chicago:

See y’all Sunday ❤️
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) January 8, 2021

Wide receiver Michael Thomas is still recovering from a high ankle sprain, and his status likely won't be known until Saturday afternoon.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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