Covington, KY – Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson pled not guilty Monday in a Kentucky court to a felony drug charge stemming from an arrest in September.
Simpson was indicted January 19 on one count of trafficking marijuana in excess of eight ounces, a charge that could land him in prison for one to five years.
The wide receiver's bond was set at $2,500, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The next hearing in the case was set for February 20.
In September, police confiscated a package containing 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana that was being shipped from California to Simpson's Kentucky home. A woman accepted the package and Simpson was discovered inside along with teammate Anthony Collins.
Police asked to search the home and found a further six pounds of marijuana along with paraphernalia. Collins was not charged in the incident.
Simpson appeared in all 16 games for the Bengals this past season, starting 14, and had 50 catches for 725 yards and four touchdowns.
He caught three passes for 33 yards in Cincinnati's 31-10 playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
But his most memorable catch of the season came in Week 16 against Arizona, when Simpson scored a touchdown by soaring over a defender in a full forward somersault with the ball clutched in his right hand.
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