This year, then, is a chance for Sims to start over.
Acquired in an April trade, he joins a team that contends for the playoffs nearly every year and enjoys its fair share of the NFL spotlight.
"What I'm used to, what I'm accustomed to, is winning," Sims said after one of his first practices with the Eagles. On Wednesday, in anticipation of his first game with a new team, he added, "I'm just excited for a new beginning."
His is the most obvious fresh start, but not the only one on the Eagles' linebacker corps.
Stewart Bradley is back after a season lost to injury, with a chance to resume the climb that began in 2008, when he made the Eagles' middle linebacker spot his own.
Akeem Jordan, after a 2009 spent bouncing between the weakside and middle linebacking slots, the injured list and second string, enters the year having won yet another starting job, at strong-side linebacker.
The team hopes the reshaped unit can provide the kind of consistency that was impossible with a string of injuries and lineup shifts last season.
"Building that continuity is important," said defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.
Much of the hoped-for improvement hinges on Bradley, who, from the middle of the defense, is charged with making calls and relaying information between the defensive line, linebackers and secondary.
A tall, fast presence, he is a threat to blitz, has the height to snarl passing lanes and the speed to chase tight ends. He is coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament but appeared strong throughout training camp. If healthy, he has the size and speed to be a defensive weapon.
