Years from now, the Baltimore Ravens might laugh about the craziness they endured before taking Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
But for now, they want draft-pick compensation from the Chicago Bears for the failed trade that forced the Ravens to skip the 26th selection, according to the *Chicago Sun-Times* and Chicago Tribune.
The NFL confirmed Friday that it's looking into the situation, which happened Thursday night after the Ravens told the league they had agreed to send the 26th pick to the Bears in exchange for the 29th selection and a fourth-rounder (127th overall). However, Chicago didn't confirm the trade to the league in time, forcing Baltimore to fall back in the draft order.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was mad about the faux pas, and he told the Bears and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as much, the *Tribune* reported, citing sources.
"I'm disappointed in the Bears and the McCaskeys," Bisciotti told *The Baltimore Sun* on Friday. "It is, in my opinion, a deviation from their great legacy. They concluded that their heartfelt and admirable apology was sufficient for our loss. All of us at the Ravens strongly disagree ... probably end of story."
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo took blame for the situation, calling it a "glitch."
"We had a disconnect," Angelo said Thursday night. "There might be something said about it because of not communicating with the league in proper protocol. That was my fault. I called Baltimore and apologized to Baltimore and told them it was our fault."
According to the Tribune, Angelo told two staff members to inform the league about the deal, but each believed the other was doing it. Thus, the call wasn't made, putting the Ravens in a bad spot.
With the trade not official, Baltimore was told to make its selection or drop back to 27th. While Ravens coach John Harbaugh was on the phone with Smith, general manager Ozzie Newsome desperately tried to make his selection, but time ran out, and the Kansas City Chiefs were placed on the clock.
The Bears wanted to move up so they could select Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi. They were able to land him at No. 29 anyway.
"It turned out all right," Angelo said.
"There was a potential for us to lose it, yes," Newsome acknowledged. "But we got the player, and we're just happy to have him."
Newsome also had a trade fall apart in the first round of the 2003 draft. He was trying to seal a deal with the Minnesota Vikings to move back from No. 7, but the teams ran out of time. The Vikings had to wait until the ninth pick to draft defensive tackle Kevin Williams, now a six-time Pro Bowl selection. The Jacksonville Jaguars rushed to take quarterback Byron Leftwich at No. 7, and the Carolina Panthers snuck in at No. 8 to take offensive tackle Jordan Gross before the Ravens took Terrell Suggs 10th overall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
