In what has been a very, very quiet free agency period so far for the the Minnesota Vikings it has been a breath of fresh air to hear about the team looking at talented WR Jerome Simpson. Even if they don't end up signing him, it's an intruding look at a troubled guy that the Vikings are looking to perhaps sign from the Cincinnati Bengals.
With discipline problems and a couple of criminal elements in Simpson's past, it looks like one of the big things that could determine his status being signed will be the NFL's indefinite timetable for putting disciplinary action on him. The situation is currently, and has been for a while, under review by the NFL. If they hand out anything to Simpson for his marijuana trafficking charge, it could change some teams ideas on signing him.
It looks like there are plenty of nice things being said about Simpson by those he has worked with, though.
But as general manager Rick Spielman and his staff have done their due diligence in researching Simpson’s background and character in recent weeks, they have heard glowing reviews from those around the receiver.
Marvin Lewis, Simpson’s head coach with the Bengals, wrote a letter to the sentencing judge on the receiver’s behalf earlier this spring. Others have spoke in glowing terms of Simpson’s laidback and caring nature and the abundance of charitable work he has been involved with during his NFL career.
If the problems that Simpson has gotten into the past few years are merely blips on the radar of a good guy and good football player, the Vikings could certainly do worse than picking the young talent up.
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