GAINES ADAMS OF THE CHICAGO BEARS DIED

Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died this morning after he was taken to a Greenwood, S.C., emergency room, the county coroner said.

Greenwood County coroner James T. Coursey told ESPN that Adams was taken to the emergency room at Self Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9 a.m. Coursey said the preliminary autopsy performed Sunday indicated Adams died of cardiac arrest.

Adams went into cardiac arrest at his family's home early this morning, said Marcia Kelley-Clark, chief deputy coroner for Greenwood County.

The autopsy showed Adams had an enlarged heart, a condition Kelley-Clark said can often lead to a heart attack. But Adams' relatives didn't know about it.

"Nobody was aware of any kind of medical condition," Kelley-Clark said.

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.

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

Adams, 26, listed at 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, played in college at Clemson and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. He was traded to the Bears in October.

"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."

AP