Browns sign former Bears LB Matthew Adams

The Cleveland Browns are signing former Chicago Bears linebacker Matt Adams, the team announced Tuesday.

Adams was brought to Chicago with a knowledge of Matt Eberflus’ defense, where he played the SAM linebacker role and served as a special teams contributor for the Bears. He had his best season since his rookie year with the Colts in 2018, but that was still in limited action.

In 10 games, with three starts, Adams totaled 26 tackles, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble on defense.

But Adams dealt with injuries that limited him to 10 games. He dealt with a hamstring injury that sidelined him in Weeks 3 and 4 before suffering a calf injury in a Week 5 loss to the Vikings that landed him on injured reserve. Adams missed five games before making his return in Week 11 against the Falcons, and he played in the final seven games.

#Browns announce signing of linebacker Matthew Adams. Adams played for the #Bears last year after four seasons with the #Colts.

— Chris Easterling (@ceasterlingABJ) March 21, 2023

Chicago retooled their linebacker room with the additions of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, who will anchor the MIKE and WILL positions, in free agency. It didn’t make sense for Chicago to bring Adams back in 2023.

Adams joins running back David Montgomery (Detroit Lions), offensive tackle Riley Reiff (New England Patriots) and linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Philadelphia Eagles) as the only other former Bears players from this free agent cycle who have found a new home.