Jerome Simpson slapped with six-game suspension for substance abuse

The San Francisco 49ers must have done something to make the football gods very, very angry. Perhaps the new Levi’s Stadium is built on a sacred Indian burial ground. Perhaps Jim Harbaugh’s gravitational pull was the foundation holding the fragile San Francisco ecosystem together. Perhaps the Bay is still paying for the sins of Ron Jaworski. Whatever it was, Tuesday provided another cruel reminder of the candor of Murphy’s Law as the Niners’ offseason from hell continued.

As if an endless merry-go-round of messy departures, sudden retirements, and numbskull arrests wasn’t enough, the NFL suspended Niners wide receiver Jerome Simpson six games for violating the league’s substance abuse, the team announced on Tuesday. The ban is likely the result of a marijuana citation from 2014, when Simpson was a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

The suspension marks the third of Simpson’s career. He served a three-game suspension at the start of last season after a drunk driving arrest and a separate three-game suspension in 2012 due to another marijuana bust.

The Coastal Carolina product signed a two-year deal with the Niners in March. He will be eligible to return for a Week 7 San Francisco grudge match with the reigning NFC champion Seahawks.

“The probability of a suspension was known when we signed Jerome,” said Niners GM Trent Baalke in an official statement. “Since joining the 49ers, Jerome has proven to be a great teammate. Although he will not be able to participate in the first six weeks of the season, Jerome has done everything asked of him, both on and off the field. We are in full support of the NFL’s decision, and look forward to Jerome’s future contributions to our organization.”

The 29-year-old wideout likely would have lined up in the slot for the Niners, behind Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin on the depth chart, with his deep-ball prowess also giving the team extra positional versatility. Now the team will have to wait until late October to figure out how to utilize him.

Breathe, San Francisco. The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad offseason is almost coming to a close.

H/T ProFootballTalk

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