Originally posted by Chicago Tribune (chicagobreakingsports.com)

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Gaines Adams, Chicago Bears defensive end, dead at 26
January 17, 2010 12:41 PM | BREAKING STORY

By Vaughn McClure and Brad Biggs

Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died Sunday morning of cardiac arrest resulting from an enlarged heart, according to Greenwood County, S.C., chief deputy coroner Marcia Kelley-Clark.

The 26-year-old Adams was taken to the emergency room at at Self Regional Healthcare at 7:14 a.m. Eastern time and pronounced dead at 8:21 a.m., Kelley-Clark said. Adams, who is from Greenwood, was visiting his girlfriend.

A Greenwood County Sheriff's investigator said the house was owned by Adams and the player and his girlfriend were at the residence at the time, and she reportedly made the call to 911 at around 7 a.m.

Toxicology tests are being run by the State Law Enforcement Division, though drug use was not suspected as a factor in Adams' death. However, those results probably will not be available for at least two months, Kelley-Clark said.

The Bears issued a statement Sunday afternoon, saying, "We are stunned and saddened by the news of Gaines' passing. Our prayers are with his family during this difficult time."

Adams' unexpected death shocked teammates. He was traded to Chicago from Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2010 second-round draft pick.

"It's crazy," Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "I didn't know him that well because he came in during the middle of the season. But I did know him. I still saw him every day when I went into work. It's just weird.

"I had a teammate die when I was in college. You just don't know how to handle it. It's just sad, man. It's a bad deal."

Adams, a star at Clemson, was the fourth pick in the 2007 draft by the Buccaneers. The Bears traded for him in October, intent on rebuilding their pass rush around him.

Adams did not have any reported prior medical issues that would have revealed heart issues.

"I remember him at the 2007 Draft as a fine young man," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Our condolences to Gaines' family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss."

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