Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Former San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Chris Mims was reportedly found dead in his Los Angeles apartment on Wednesday. He was 38.
According to KTLA in Los Angeles, police say that Mims was found around 9:30 a.m. by officers on a welfare check. There does not appear to be any evidence of foul play, police told the television station, and the cause of death is unknown. Officer April Harding of the Los Angeles Police Department told KTLA that Mims suffered from weight and medical problems.
Mims played eight years in the NFL -- seven years with the Chargers and one with the Washington Redskins. Drafted 23rd overall out of Tennessee in 1992, Mims recorded 10 sacks as a rookie defensive end, and had a career-high 11 sacks and started all 16 games in 1994, when the Chargers won the AFC before losing Super Bowl XXIX to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Los Angeles native spent the 1997 season with the Redskins, and had four sacks in 11 games as a defensive tackle before returning to San Diego for the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. He only had two sacks combined over his last two seasons, and retired after 1999 with 42 sacks in 104 career games.
