Despite posting a career high in yards and coming two catches short of his career high in that category last season, Vikings WR Jerome Simpson got a one-year deal worth only $1 million for 2014.
That has less to do with his performance on the field than it does about concerns off of it. Simpson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving last November, and though he's completed his community service requirement after pleading guilty to a lesser charge, he could still face NFL discipline for his second arrest in less than three years.
If Simpson is suspended at all this season, he'll have a harder time putting up the numbers to earn the multi-year deal he's often said he wants. If he can stay out of trouble, though, there will be opportunities for him in the Vikings' offense.
Simpson will have to compete with second-year player Cordarrelle Patterson and vet Greg Jennings. But, both Patterson and Simpson have worked at other spots, according to the story, and in an offense that figures to spread things out and push the ball downfield more, Simpson could find plenty of opportunities to put up numbers. More than one-third of his targets last season came on passes that traveled at least 15 yards in the air, according to ESPN Stats and Information, and that number could be at least as high this season. He's off our fantasy radar right now, ranked just 92nd and not getting drafted, but he's one of many guys who could get plucked off the waiver wire at some point.
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