The NFL is “looking into” the attempted draft trade that failed to materialize Thursday night between the Bears and Baltimore Ravens and prompted apologies from general manager Jerry Angelo.
Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti let his displeasure be known, both in telephone conversations with the Bears and with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, sources said.
The league is not expected to take any action, but NFL senior vice president of public relations Greg Aeillo did say, “We are looking into it,” in an email to the Tribune.
The Bears had offered the Ravens their fourth-round pick in order to move up three spots in the draft, from 29 to 26, in order to take Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi. The Ravens had accepted the offer and phoned in the deal to the league.
Angelo had told staff members to phone in the deal with a little more than two minutes remaining on the clock. But two staff members each thought the other was making the call, and the call never was made. The deal subsequently was not consummated and the Ravens’ 10 minutes expired before they could do anything.
Both teams ended up getting the players they targeted. The Bears got Carimi with the 29th pick and the Ravens chose cornerback Jimmy Smith with the 27th pick after the Chiefs jumped in front of them. The Ravens had been prepared to take Smith if no deal could be reached.
The Ravens, however, felt they lost out on a fourth-round pick they had coming to them, and Bisciotti also felt embarrassed by the way things played out.
Angelo took responsibility for the glitch and apologized in a phone call to Bisciotti, and then publicly.
As to whether the NFL will take action, there is not believed to be any precedent for a team to be awarded compensation for a situation like this.
One potential solution would be another trade Friday. The Bears could give the Ravens their fourth-round pick in order to move up four spots in the second round from the 62nd overall spot to the 58th spot.
dpompei@tribune.com
Twitter @danpompei
Article source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/sports/cbsports-nfl-looking-into-bears-botched-trade-witih-ravens-20110429,0,3786581.story?track=rss
