Gaines Adams: Chicago Bears Player Dies

In shocking NFL news, player Gaines Adams died at a South Carolina hospital after a suspected heart attack this morning.  He was just 26 years old.

Gaines Adams played defensive end for the Chicago Bears and was pronounced dead in the E.R. at Self Regional Memorial Hospital in Greenwood.

Adams was found by his girlfriend at his Dublin Street home.  She immediately alerted authorities.

“EMS brought him to the emergency room of Self Regional Memorial Hospital and pronounced him dead at 8.21 [a.m. local time],” said Greenwood County Coroner Jim Coursey.

Coursey says Adams was in perfectly good health prior to his stunning death and he had no record of any previous health conditions.

The coroner added that an autopsy had been done and that all signs point to cardiac arrest.

“They already opened him up and looked at it,” Coursey said.  The autopsy was performed just after 12.30 p.m.  He adds that Coursey had an enlarged heart.

The death investigation will likely now be concluded as a cause of death has already been determined.

“We are stunned and saddened by the news of Gaines’ passing,” the Bears said in a prepared statement. “Our prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Adams was chosen fourth overall in the 2007 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he was then dealt to the Bears in October of last year. He hadn’t quite lived up to expectations that he would breathe new life into the Bucs’ pass rush, having logged just 17 tackles and only one sack in 15 games.

Adams failed to his the benchmark that had been established by Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris, who stated at the beginning of the team’s training camp that Adams would be thought of as a “bust” if he didn’t hit double digits in sacks.

The defensive end, who stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 258 pounds, gained notoriety among Clemson fans for blocking a field goal attempt by Wake Forest then and returning it for a touchdown back in 2006 to beat the Demon Deacons.

Adams appeared to welcome the challenge laid down by Morris, who also pushed the third-year pro after he started the season with less-than-stellar performances in the team’s first three games of the season.

“In football you need that. Players tend to get in their own element and do things that they want to do. They need to be called out sometimes. He’s the coach. Whatever he says, goes,” Adams stated back in August.

“I take it as a challenge. Being drafted fourth overall, that comes with the territory. It’s year three for me. Obviously it’s time for me to step up.”

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