Kenneth Wayne Sims (October 31, 1959 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for eight seasons with the

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of the

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(NFL) during the 1980s. He played

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for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, earning consensus

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honors twice. Sims was selected by New England with the first overall pick of the 1982 NFL draft, and played professionally for the Patriots, including the season they went to

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Early life

Sims was born in Kosse, Texas. In his junior year at Groesbeck High School, Sims quit football but then realized that football was indeed for him and went on to spend his senior year playing

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, fullback and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, rather than as a tackle.

College career

At the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, Sims spent his freshman year learning the basics of the tackle position. He spent his sophomore year behind

Steve McMichael Stephen Douglas McMichael (October 17, 1957 – April 23, 2025), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming", and "Ming the Merciless", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. He was a defensive tackle for 15 seasons in the Natio ...

and Bill Acker, then became a force his junior year. He made 131 tackles, and was named All-Conference and an

. As a senior in 1981, Sims became the first Longhorn to win the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

, was named the 1981 UPI Lineman of the Year, was the top defensive vote-recipient for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

(8th overall) and earned all-conference and

status once again. In 1981, he helped Texas to finish 10–1–1, win the 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic, and finish ranked second nationally, their best end-of-year ranking since 1970. During his college career, Sims recorded 322 tackles (including 50 tackles for loss), 29 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks.

Professional career

Sims was the first overall pick in the 1982 NFL draft, only the third Longhorn to be selected with the first pick. In his rookie year, he came in fifth in the voting for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. With the

in the NFL, Sims played 74 career games and had 17

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s over eight NFL seasons. His best year was 1985, when he managed 5.5 sacks despite only playing in 13 games after he broke his leg late in the regular season. He did not get to play in

, which the Patriots lost. Sims suffered multiple injuries to his knees, legs and back throughout his career, limiting his play such that the only complete season he played was 1984. He had surgery in 1987 for his back. After that season he signed a one-year, incentives based contract with the Patriots but he ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

in the opening game of the year and missed the remainder of the season. He was signed to another one-year contract in 1989 and played most of the 1989 season, but missed the last game with an injured knee. Following the 1985 season, the Patriots instituted a voluntary drug testing program after six players, including Sims, admitted to struggling with drugs over the prior years. Sims supported the program and said that he'd gotten himself clean after going through a team-supported drug rehabilitation program. In 1990, Sims was arrested in

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, and charged with possession of cocaine. He was released by the Patriots 16 days later for failing to stay in proper shape. In 1992, after spending time in rehab, Sims signed a one-year contract with the

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—by this time he was being described as a recovering alcoholic; he was waived before the start of the season.

Death

Sims died in his sleep in Waynesville, North Carolina, on March 21, 2025, at the age of 65.

Honors

Sims was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2021. He was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1997.

References

External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Kenneth 1959 births 2025 deaths American football defensive ends New England Patriots players Texas Longhorns football players All-American college football players First overall NFL draft picks People from Kosse, Texas Players of American football from Texas College Football Hall of Fame inductees