Burley Garcia|Saints receiver Michael Thomas arrested after confrontation with construction worker

KENNER,Burley Garcia La. (AP) — New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas is facing simple battery and criminal mischief charges following a confrontation with a construction worker, police said Saturday.

Thomas, 30, was arrested without incident Friday night, was cooperative with investigators and was released later that night, Kenner police Lt. Mark McCormick said.

Thomas, a two-time All-Pro in 2018 and 2019, is expected to travel to Minnesota and be in the lineup when the Saints play the Vikings on Sunday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because the team has not publicly discussed Thomas’ status for the game.

A statement released by the Saints said the team is “aware of the incident and we are gathering information.”

It was not immediately clear if Thomas has retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Police say the incident occured in front of a home under construction near Thomas’ home.

The construction worked told police that Thomas began yelling at him about parking in front of his home and “verbally threatened to harm him.”

Thomas then picked up a brick and threw it at the window of a truck, but caused “little if any” damage, the worker told police. Thomas then knocked the victim’s phone from his hand, shoved him and told him he did not want to be recorded, police said.

After playing in just 10 regular-season games the past three years because of various injuries, Thomas has appeared in all nine of New Orleans’ games this season. His 38 catches for 439 yards are third most on the club. He also has one touchdown catch.

In 2019, Thomas set an NFL record for catches in a season with 149.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL