After all, the 24-year-old Sims was being groomed as the left guard of the future, and Wahle’s acquisition meant Sims immediately lost his job.

But that’s life in the NFL, Sims realized. Heck, the Seahawks cut Shaun Alexander, the 2005 league MVP. And they let receiver D.J. Hackett leave in free agency without putting up a fight. Nearly a quarter of the roster has turned over.

If those players can be let go, the team’s fourth-round draft pick in 2006 certainly is expendable.

“I want to be a team guy,” Sims said after Saturday morning’s minicamp practice. “At first, I was a little upset. But this is the NFL. That is kind of how it goes. So you move over and suck it up and just go out here and learn as much as you can. In the end, it is just playing football. You can’t be upset about it.”

It appears as if the 6-foot-3, 312-pound Sims will stay in the starting lineup, but on the right side – a position Sims has never played. He is stepping in for 37-year-old Chris Gray, who after 15 years finally will be pushed into a backup role.

“Just everything is backward,” Sims said. “Your feet are backward. You are so used to moving with your right foot up; now your left foot is up. It is just different. It takes time to get proficient at both. Unfortunately, I haven’t had as many reps (at right guard) as I would have liked throughout my career. So it is new for me. But it is coming along good.”

Sims said Gray is serving as a mentor and, in his way, an example.

“One thing that is helping me is watching Chris on film,” Sims said. “It is not so much how big and strong you are or how fast you are, but it is one of those things where linemen get better with age. Chris, his foot is always in the same place at the same time. You just sit back and watch him and want to be like that guy and then let your athleticism take over from that point.”

Sims declined to speculate as to why the running game struggled last season. But, he said, the signings of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett should pay immediate dividends.

Though those backs have different styles than Alexander, Sims said he approaches his job the same way, even on the other side of the ball.

“Blocking is blocking,” Sims said. “You do what you can with the guy in front of you, and you let the guy in back do their job. Those guys are going to hit the hole and run up in there and make a couple people miss – and I think we will be better for it.”

Stability at snapper

After going through three snappers last year, punter Ryan Plackemeier – the holder on field goals – is relieved to have some security at the position.

The Seahawks took Tyler Schmitt in the sixth round of last weekend’s draft.

“You know where the ball’s going to be,” Plackemeier said. “The guys last year, they came in and worked hard in the time they had. But for being a young guy, I was impressed with Tyler. He’s still got work to do. You saw last year how much of a rhythm you have to get into, so we’ve just got to develop that rhythm. We’ve got plenty of time to do it, which is nice.

“Last year, you had a week to do it: ‘You’ve got a week to go, go find a rhythm.’ It’s nice to have some time to work into a rhythm. Right now, we’re miles ahead of where we were last year.

“It’s a lot of credit to him and the work he’s put in.”

Three more take a seat

Defensive tackle Howard Green and receivers Anthony Russo and Corey Williams joined nine players – Patrick Kerney, Walter Jones, Deion Branch, Rocky Bernard, Marcus Tubbs, Will Herring, Mike Green, Chris Spencer and Ray Willis – who sat out while recovering from surgeries.

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