Gaines Adams reacts: "I am just glad to be a Bear"

Gaines Adams had no idea that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were considering trading him when he received the call tonight that he was headed to the Bears.

“First of all, I want to thank the Buccaneers for giving me the opportunity, and for picking me in the draft,” Adams told the Sun-Times. “This is the nature of the beast, though, and this is a new start for me. I wish them the best of luck and I am just glad to be a Bear.”

The fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft, Adams had 12 1/2 sacks for the Buccaneers in his first two seasons playing in the Tampa Two, the same defensive scheme he will find here. Adams is flying to Chicago Saturday in time to make the trip with the team to Atlanta Saturday night. He is eligible to play Sunday, and the Bears will have to cut a player Saturday to make room for Adams.

Adams had a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. the Bears at Soldier Field last season, but five of his career sacks have come vs. the Falcons, so the Bears might just consider plugging him in on the fly like the Oakland Raiders did with Richard Seymour after they acquired him at the start of the season. The jump in the standings–the Bucs are 0-5 and the Bears are 3-1–was refreshing.

“Obviously, with the team I was with, the record shows and obviously stepping into a new team, I’m going to a good position with the Bears,” Adams said. “I am going to try to make the best of it.

“I’m just trying to get up there first and just trying to get their playbook and get all of the little things taken care of and hopefully go out and play Sunday.”

First-year Bucs coach Raheem Morris had been critical of Adams back in training camp and then at the start of the season. He had one sack in Tampa’s loss at Washington, and he’s been playing both right and left ends.

“Coach Morris wasn’t too hard on me, not at all,” Adams said. “Being drafted where I was at, there were high expectations for me. I still have high expectations for myself.”

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