National Football League

Report: Angelo takes blame for mishap

Published Apr. 29, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said he should be blamed Friday for a mishap that saw the Baltimore Ravens bizarrely forced to pass up their first round draft pick at number 26, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Draft watchers at New York's Radio City Music Hall were shocked Thursday night when the Ravens missed their selection slot, prompting speculation of a bungled late deal by the Baltimore brass.

But an apologetic Angelo later said the mishap came from the Chicago side after he failed to inform the league of an agreed trade with the Ravens, who are now demanding the league take action over the mistake.

They may include demanding the (fourth round) 127th pick that the Bears promised the Ravens to swap from 26th to 29th in the draft as Chicago looked to lock in the selection of Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi.

An agreement was apparently forged with two minutes and 30 seconds remaining before the Ravens' slot, but while Baltimore's general manager Ozzie Newsome informed the league, his counterpart, Angelo, failed to see through his side of the bureaucracy.

The mistake stripped both teams of the pick, with the Kansas City Chiefs moving up into 26th to select Pittsburgh receiver Jonathan Baldwin.

The Ravens then picked Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith at 27th, before the Bears landed their intended target, Carimi, anyway, at 29th.

Smith was fortunately the Ravens' intended pick, but the brief jeopardy left Newsome unamused. The Sun-Times reported that the Ravens later appealed to the league that the Bears should owe them a draft pick for the gaffe.

"Everyone was poised," Newsome said. "The other team never got confirmation with the league."

"I dropped the ball," Angelo later said. "What's been done can't be undone ... It was our fault. [The Ravens] did everything according to the rules."