For years, the Lions had a revolving door at the left guard position. Then, in 2010, the Lions traded for Rob Sims and finally found stability at that spot. Now, Sims is eligible for free agency and he says that he wants to stay put, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes.
“This is our home,” Sims said of Detroit. “My children were born here. Me and my wife have built our family here and bought businesses here. Detroit is never ever going to leave me. My heart and my charity work will always be here. But yeah, I would love to stay here, love to.”
Sims, 31, struggled early on in 2014 as he continued to recover from offseason injuries. He allowed two sacks against the Bills in Week 5 and garnered a negative grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) in half of the Lions’ first ten games. But once his injuries started to get behind him, Sims played well down the stretch. Starting in Week 11 against the Cardinals Sims earned a positive grade from PFF in every game.
The Lions have already begun making changes to their o-line after it struggled badly as a whole in 2014. They’ve informed long-time center Dominic Raiola they don’t plan on bringing him back in 2015. They are expected to bring in another offensive lineman, possibly a guard, via free agency or the draft, but they might want to maintain some stability and keep the experienced Sims. The Lions don’t have a ton of depth on the roster at guard after Sims and Larry Warford, which could help Sims earn a role in 2015.