It took them almost three weeks, but the Green Bay Packers landed their first outside unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with former St. Louis Rams strongside linebacker Brandon Chillar on a two-year contract worth $5.4 million, an NFL source confirmed.

The Packers didn't formally announce the deal.

The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Chillar, 25, was a fourth-round draft pick in 2004 out of UCLA and started 12 games over his first two NFL seasons before emerging as a full-time starter in 2006. Last season, Chillar registered career highs in tackles (85), sacks (2 1/2) and forced fumbles (three) in 15 games for the Rams.

Chillar will compete with incumbent sam linebacker Brady Poppinga in training camp for the right to start along with middle linebacker Nick Barnett and weak-side starter A.J. Hawk. The Packers have also reportedly approached Poppinga about a contract extension, and if he loses his starting job, he could still be a key contributor in defensive sub packages as a pass-rusher, as well as on special teams.

Poppinga, a fourth-round pick in 2005, has started on the strong side each of the past two seasons for the Packers. Last season, he registered 70 tackles (43 solo), with one interception and one pass defensed.

Chillar picked the Packers even though the Arizona Cardinals were his first choice, according to an NFL source. Chillar preferred the Cardinals because Phoenix is closer to home, since he was born in Los Angeles and attended Carlsbad High School. But the Cardinals' salary-cap problems and complications in wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's new contract became an issue.

Fitzgerald agreed to terms last week on a four-year, $40 million deal, but the contract has not been finalized and is still being evaluated by lawyers, according to the Arizona Republic.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that incentives in Chillar's contract with the Packers could raise the total value of the deal to more than $6 million. The Rams were believed to be offering a one-year deal, while the Packers and Cardinals had multi-year offers.

Chillar, who visited Arizona on March 4 and Green Bay on March 5, joins a linebacking corps of Hawk, Barnett, Poppinga, Desmond Bishop, Abdul Hodge and Tracy White, whom the team agreed to terms with on a two-year deal earlier this week. The Packers carried just five linebackers on the 53-man roster for most of last season.