Jerome Simpson, wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, was arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

It all started when a Minnesota State Patrol trooper responded to a report of a stalled vehicle on Interstate 394 heading west out of downtown Minneapolis. When the trooper arrived, Simpson got out of the stalled red Dodge Charger. The trooper observed that Simpson’s speech was slurred and his eyes were watery.

Simpson said he’d been at the Pour House, a popular downtown Minneapolis bar, and despite his claims not to have been drinking, the trooper administered a field sobriety test. Obviously the test didn’t go so well for Simpson, because he was arrested and later booked at the Hennepin County jail where he refused to take a breath test.

He was released Saturday afternoon on $12,000 bond.

The Vikings issued a bare-bones statement regarding the incident: “The Vikings are aware of the matter involving Jerome Simpson. We are continuing to gather information and will have further comment at the appropriate time.”

This isn’t the first time Simpson has had a run-in with the law. In fact, he’s currently serving out three years of probation from an incident that occurred in September, 2011. At the time, Simpson was playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and living in a Kentucky suburb. A special task force tracked a 2-1/2 pound package of marijuana from a Sacramento, California mail sorting facility to Simpson’s townhome.

Simpson was a little more forthcoming during that incident. He allowed police to search the premises. They found another six pounds of marijuana and empty parcels, scales, and packaging materials. According to Tommy LaNier, head of the National Marijuana Initiative, the house appeared to be “set up as a potential distribution network.”

The NFL responded by suspending Simpson for three games in accordance with their substance abuse policy. The suspension came immediately after Simpson had signed on for a year with the Vikings. At the time, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman stood by his new wide receiver:

“We did a lot of research. I think you guys know us well enough now that we have had success with guys with character issues that have come into this organization and have been very productive, not only on the field but as citizens.”

Spielman was careful not to condone Simpson’s actions, though: “Every person we talked to stood by the kid’s character. Not standing by the mistake he made, but by what this kid’s character is …”

As far as his performance on the field goes, Simpson didn’t let the Vikings down. Though he has yet to score a touchdown, he leads the team with 491 yards receiving this season.

Some Vikings fans are hoping that the fall-out from Simpson’s weekend arrest will result in increased playing time for first round draft pick Cordarrelle Patterson.

Could Jerome Simpson's DWI rescue Cordarrelle Patterson from the #Vikings coaching staff? http://t.co/b21GEkVkN1

— Darren Campbell (@KickassblogVike) November 9, 2013

1) Jerome Simpson is a goofy dumby. 2) Guess what this means? MORE CORDARRELLE PATTERSON!

— Christopher Yahnke (@ChrYahnke) November 10, 2013

with Jerome Simpson's arrest, maybe the Vikings will finally get Cordarrelle Patterson on the field for most of the game now

— Jordan Rakauskas (@THEJRak87) November 9, 2013

Look at it this way Vikings fans, less Simpson means more Patterson.

— Daniel Southard (@DandyMan77) November 9, 2013

The Vikes should just cut Simpson and let Patterson start the rest of the season. #seasonisover

— Skol Vikes (@SkolVikesBlog) November 9, 2013

Jerome Simpson arrested on prob cause DWI. It's Flash Patterson's time! #finally

— Trei Miller (@Tvikes) November 9, 2013

Image via Wikimedia Commons