In a rather surprising move, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded former top 5 pick Gaines Adams to the Chicago Bears for a 2010 second round pick according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This could turn out to be a great move by Bears general manager Jerry Angelo, who continues to acquire talented defensive players. The Bears are going to have trouble re-signing Adewale Oguneleye, who is having a solid start to the season and who becomes a free agent in the offseason. Angelo knows this and if doesn’t think he can find a premier pass-rusher in the second round next April, then it’s worth it for him to take a shot on Adams, who was the top defensive end prospect in the 2007 draft. Adams is also under contract through 2012 and is only 26.
The X-factor in this trade is Chicago defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who has a knack for getting the most out of his players. Adams has the talent, but it hasn’t developed yet and unleashed his full capabilities as a pass rusher. If anyone can get him to reach his full potential, it could be Marinelli.
As for the Bucs, they get a second round pick out of this deal but lose their most talented pass rusher. I realize that Adams wasn’t exactly the player Tampa that he’d be when they drafted him, but this seems a tad early for the Bucs to give up on him.
Who knows, maybe Adams will never develop and Tampa will draft a starter with the second round pick it got out of this deal. But as of now, this is a questionable decision by the Bucs’ new regime.
