Former NFL defensive tackle Nick Fairley was arrested Friday and charged with menacing.
Fairley was arrested Friday afternoon in Mobile, Ala., for allegedly threatening someone with a gun. He was charged with two counts of menacing, Al.com reported.
No one was injured in the incident, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. Fairley was released just over an hour after he was booked and faces a January court date.
A first-round draft pick (No. 13 overall) of the Detroit Lions in the 2011 NFL Draft, Fairley was released by the New Orleans Saints on Feb. 5 due to a heart issue that forced him to sit out the entire 2017 season.
Fairley was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list in June 2017 prior to his second season with New Orleans after a physician recommended that he retire.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Fairley had started all 16 games for the Saints in 2016, registering a career-high 6.5 sacks. He signed a four-year contract worth $28 million three months before the heart issue was detected.
Although Fairley was diagnosed with an enlarged heart before he joined the NFL, the former Auburn standout passed physicals for three different teams in six seasons.
Fairley collected 170 tackles and 20.5 sacks in 77 career games with the Saints, then-St. Louis Rams and Lions.
