***** beat out Rams for DL Sims
06/23/2008
The rival San Francisco ***** have beaten out the Rams for the services of veteran defensive lineman Barry Sims.
On Monday, Sims agreed to a two-year free-agent deal with the Niners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sims, 33, started 119 games, mostly at left tackle, in nine seasons with Oakland before the Raiders released him Feb. 29.
He met with coach Scott Linehan, offensive coordinator Al Saunders and offensive line coach Steven Loney on June 13 at Rams Park.
"The meeting went very well, and I had had some good talks with (personnel chief) Billy Devaney," said Ken Vierra, Sims’ agent. "From a football perspective, San Francisco and St. Louis both afforded Barry an opportunity to come in and compete. That's all he was looking for."
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Sims also made visits to New England and Baltimore, but the Rams and ***** emerged as the finalists.
"It was a tough call," Vierra said. "When it came time to put a deal together, the ***** were really aggressive. That was the difference." Sims was signed by Oakland during training camp in 1999 as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Utah. He became a full-time starter in 2001.
