Vikings receiver Jerome Simpson happy to return from suspension

Minnesota receiver Jerome Simpson was suspended for the first two games after violating the league's substance abuse policy, but he's eligible to play against Detroit on Sunday. (US Presswire)

Despite the big Vikings' win against the 49ers on Sunday, the happiest player on the team may be someone who didn't event participate. On Monday, WR Jerome Simpson came off his three-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and he was able to rejoin his teammates for all team activities.

For the past three weeks, Simpson could sit in on meetings with teammates, but he could not practice or train with them. But on Monday, Simpson was officially full go, and on Wednesday he will return to practice -- and no one in the locker room wore a bigger smile on his face than Simpson.

“Waiting for (the game) to hurry up and get over,” Simpson said of watching the Vikings game at home. “I was happy that we got a win, but I was more happy that it was the end of my suspension.”

Coach Leslie Frazier said the team has some time before they have to make a decision on who to cut to make room for Simpson.

“There is a three-day exemption with him,” Frazier said. “We don't have to do anything until Thursday after 3 p.m. So we'll make a decision here in the next couple days in the direction we want to go from a roster standpoint. For the next few days, we'll be able to practice with 54.”

Simpson has not had any live game action since late in the preseason, and it may take him some time to get back up to speed.

“That's going to be a little bit of a challenge for him -- the contact part of it, wearing the pads again, the speed of the game,” Frazier said. “But the good thing is he's a veteran player who has been in the league for a while. We'll just kind of have to see how he does in practice and that will probably determine how much we'll get him involved early in the game.”

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