For breakfast, lunch and dinner, the “Iron Pimp” awaited Jerome Simpson.

The “Iron Pimp” is what inmates called the snack machine in the Kentucky community jail where Simpson spent 15 days earlier this year after pleading guilty to a felony drug charge. The machine had Cheetos, Simpson’s food of choice because he thought the jail food was so bad. Simpson had a wad of dollar bills that he’d smooth out on the side of the machine before inserting.

No wonder he drove straight to Longhorn’s Steakhouse as soon as he was released, ordering a juicy T-Bone steak without thinking twice.

Now, the Vikings receiver must cope with being a prisoner of his own idleness, as mandated by the NFL.

Simpson must sit out the season’s first three games for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. As a result, the Vikings are reducing his reps in the final two weeks of the preseason, with Simpson volunteering to run the scout team in practice. It’s a five-week vanishing act, really, though at least he’s allowed at the team’s Winter Park facility until September.

Gripping his second chance with both hands, Simpson understands how good he has it now. Most everything in his life now comes with a personal qualifier: This is better than jail.

“That part of my life is out of my life,” said Simpson, who pled guilty in March as a result of about two pounds of marijuana being shipped to his Kentucky home. “You can take things for granted when you’re a person that’s free, but now that I’ve kind of had my freedom taken away from me, it’s not a good experience.”

Simpson still doesn’t feel completely free. The weekly drug tests as part of his probation remind him of that. But the thought of a big season with the Vikings and a long NFL career helps him compartmentalize the past, and learn from it.

That’s why he plans to return to the Vikings in Week 4 as a better, stronger receiver. He’ll be in Cincinnati, where he played for four NFL seasons, during part of the suspension to work out with trainer Clif Marshall at Ignition APG. He also might visit California to refine his route-running with trainer Charles Collins.

This is good news for the Vikings, who already have seen Simpson establish a connection with quarterback Christian Ponder. The two hooked up early and often in training camp, which paid off last week against Buffalo early in the first quarter. Ponder hit Simpson on a quick slant route with a pass the receiver took 33 yards after hurdling safety Jairus Byrd in the open field, showcasing big-play ability the Vikings desperately need to complement Percy Harvin.

Simpson talks openly about his jail experience, not as a badge of honor but as a way of reflecting on his personal growth. The stint kept him on edge for awhile, but also introduced him to some nice people along the way. In fact, Simpson passed along one of Marshall’s workouts to inmates who were kind to him because of his NFL status.

The guards were a different story.

“Sometimes the guards, they kind of have their own egos of me being in the NFL,” Simpson said. “They tried to be a little tougher on me, watched me more. They never laid their hands on me though.”

Neither did inmates, though he had heard plenty of stories that worried him. He was prepared for the worst every day, he said.

Showering with inmates was one of the worst parts, Simpson said, but he found encouragement that he still draws from now.

“A lot of guys told me, ‘Don’t come back here, man. This isn’t a place for you,’ ” Simpson said. “They would ask me for autographs. It lifted me up. Sometimes you don’t realize how you can affect people.”

Simpson is trying to apply that logic to the Vikings. Coach Leslie Frazier has said several times that Simpson has done all the right things since arriving. His lobby to help the scout team is a small gesture but still bodes well for a player looking to shed the character-concern label.

Simpson says he feels at home at the Vikings facility, as opposed to feeling “on your own a little bit” while with the Bengals. Everyone’s nicer here, he says.

Playing under a one-year deal worth up to $2 million, Simpson will have 13 games to redefine his career. Last year as a first-time starter, Simpson flashed big-play ability but also had seven games with two catches or less.

Simpson plans to become a consistent receiver, for both himself and Ponder’s development.

If Simpson has his way, his coming-out party will separate him from the “Iron Pimp” forever.

“I’m just trying to make ordinary things extraordinary,” Simpson said. “Let the Jerome Simpson come out of me.”