Saints wide receiver and former Offensive Player of the Year, Michael Thomas, was arrested on simple battery and criminal mischief charges after allegedly assaulting a construction worker on November 10.

Both of the charges brought against him are misdemeanors.

According to the Kenner Police Department, Thomas had a confrontation with a construction worker who was working on a house in Thomas’ neighborhood. The victim said that Thomas yelled at him because he parked in front of Thomas’ house, claiming that Thomas even threatened to harm him.

The victim recorded the incident which upset Thomas, enticing him to throw a brick at the victim’s truck, while knocking the phone out of the victims hand and exclaiming, ”I do not want to be recorded.”

Although Thomas was outraged during the incident, he cooperated with the police investigation. He was released just three hours after his arrest.

The Saints issued a statement following Thomas’ arrest. ”We are aware of the incident and are gathering information.” Saints head coach Dennis Allen hasn’t spoken on the matter.

While many NFL players would receive a suspension for an incident like this, Thomas hasn’t been suspended. Jaguars wide receiver Zay Jones was arrested on domestic battery charges but wasn’t suspended, so the NFL may be showing mercy for Thomas and Jones.

On the field, Thomas suffered a knee injury against the Minnesota Vikings, which landed Thomas on injured reserve. He has already had one of the worst seasons of his career with 448 receiving yards and one touchdown while playing 10 games.

Saint Paul’s senior Samuel Drez notices the falloff in Thomas’ production. “Since the incident, MT seemed to be completely out of it. He hasn’t been performing how I or anybody else would like him to. There is no doubt about the correlation between his off-field and on-field performance.”

Thomas has an uphill battle to fight if he wants to become the same player he was when he won Offensive Player of the Year in 2019. His arrest, injury, and performance have not helped the Saints’ 6-7 record.

Photo Credits (respectively): Stephen Mautren/Getty Images, Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports, David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire