Vikings Interested In Bringing Back Jerome Simpson

More grist from the rumor mill that is the pre-free agency period.

Word from the St. Paul Pioneer Press is that the Minnesota Vikings are interested in bringing back wide receiver Jerome Simpson. During his NFL career, we can charitably say that Simpson has had a checkered past, including an incident during his time with the Vikings that might leave his 2014 status up in the air.

2013 was Simpson's second year with the Vikings, and he caught 48 passes for 726 yards and one touchdown. He also had an incident where he was originally cited for driving while impaired. He eventually plead guilty to charges of careless driving and refusing to submit to a sobriety test. However, he was still on probation for his infamous "Hey, let me mail this marijuana to myself" incident when he was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, and the terms of that probation stated that he was not allowed to use alcohol or other intoxicating substances.

That could leave him in legal hot water, not to mention any potential discipline he could face from the league for being a repeat offender. Obviously, that would play a part in any potential contract negotiations and/or the Vikings' desire to bring him back at all.

I'm not sure what to make of the prospect of bringing Simpson back. With Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson now the starters (Simpson's incident in November opened the door for Patterson to finally get some starts), he's a #3 receiver at best right now. Jarius Wright is entrenched on the depth chart as well, so the price tag for a veteran like Simpson might be too high to consider bringing him back to be a #3 or #4 guy.