Knight-Ridder Newspapers
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- There might be hope for the Vikings in their impasses with first-round draft pick Bryant McKinnie.
Ryan Sims, a defensive tackle selected by Kansas City with the No. 6 pick just ahead of McKinnie, ended his holdout Wednesday. According to league sources, Sims signed a seven-year contract, which voids down to a six-year pact, with a signing bonus of about $10 million. Sources said Sims' deal might be worth about $13 million guaranteed over the first three years.
The signing of Sims means the player in front of McKinnie and the player drafted below him, Dallas safety Roy Williams, are signed. Williams, whom many league observers said was overpaid, will receive about $13.2 million in the first three years.
In a system in which draft picks are essentially slotted, this could be significant in McKinnie's negotiations that have been at a stalemate since he turned down what the team called its final offer Aug. 2.
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Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski declined to comment on Sims' signing.
