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Vikings Release Jerome Simpson

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Vikings announced Thursday that Jerome Simpson has been released from the team amid reports of further legal trouble for the wide receiver.

The seven-year veteran out of Coastal Carolina now faces charges of driving on a limited driver's license, possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle and having an open bottle in a motor vehicle, according to Rick Hart, deputy police chief in Bloomington, Minn. He has a Nov. 3 arraignment in Hennepin County Court.

Simpson was in the final week of his three-game suspension under the league's substance-abuse policy, his second such punishment in three seasons with the Vikings.

He was arrested last November on suspicion of drunken driving. In January, he avoided jail time after pleading guilty to careless driving and refusing to take a DWI test. In return, prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired.

Simpson also served a three-game ban in 2012, stemming from a felony drug conviction for a marijuana shipment authorities found at his home in Kentucky while he played for Cincinnati in 2011. That could mean he's on track for a steeper penalty this time.

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