Wide receiver Jerome Simpson didn't practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer, as authorities conduct an investigation after saying they found six more pounds of marijuana inside his home this week.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis told SiriusXM NFL Radio's "The Opening Drive" Thursday that Simpson is cooperating in the investigation but that teammate Anthony Collins, who was at Simpson's house when the package arrived, was not involved, according to the report.
Simpson and Collins, along with a woman, identified as Aleen Smith, were questioned at the residence but no arrests were made.
"I've been appraised of the situation for a few days now and unfortunately Anthony's name got put into it for no reason," Lewis said. "It was at Jerome's house and it's an investigation that's going on. He's cooperating and doing what he can to help in the investigation."
In addition to the large amounts of marijuana found, authorities said they discovered smoking pipes and scales, according to The Associated Press.
"We don't believe it (the package) was for personal use," said Michelle Gregory, spokeswoman for the California Department of Justice. "We believe there's some sort of distribution or sales out of his home."
The Enquirer reported teammates had few comments on the matter, although offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said that they would continue to support Simpson and Collins.
"This is a football team. We talked about being all in together, we talk about supporting one another and this is another instance where we are going to do that," Whitworth said. "This is a situation where we are not going to jump out here and judge people or do things or that kind of stuff, we are here to support our guys, help them through situations no matter what guy gets into a situation. This just happens to be one that is public and it will be no different, we are going to rally around our guys and support them through this."
