Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on April 29, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Sure, the Bears were the lucky recipients of good fortune when Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi fell to them at No. 29 in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. But will it end up costing them a fourth-round draft pick?

Apparently, all indications are that the Bears desperately tried to trade with the Baltimore Ravens in order to move three picks up, in order to grab Carimi.

But sources say the trade stalled, and as a result, the Ravens ran out of time and lost their pick.

Bears GM Jerry Angelo apologized for the mix-up, and said it was his fault. So, does that mean the Bears owe compensation to the Ravens, either morally or legally?

This would be an unacceptable mistake if it turns out that it ends up costing the team a pick. The Bears already are without a seventh-round pick, so a loss of another pick would leave the Bears with only five picks in this draft.

With a lot of needs on the defensive line, as well as a corner and a linebacker for depth, this would be a costly error indeed.

The Bears were prepared to trade their fourth-round pick in the proposed trade, so it follows that if the trade going awry was truly Chicago’s fault, perhaps the league may intervene and tell the Bears to provide compensation to the Ravens.

“We had a disconnect and there might be something said about it because of not communicating with the league and proper protocol; that was my fault,” Angelo said.

“I called Baltimore and apologized to Baltimore and told them it was our fault. They did everything according to the rules, and we thought we were following everything, and we just ran out of time. It was a glitch on our part and that glitch obviously was under my reign.” (source: Jeff Dickerson, ESPNChicago.com)

Angelo goes on to point out that each team ended up getting the players they wanted. But that’s not the point.

In fact, if anything, that only damns the Bears further. That means they didn’t need to make the trade in the first place.

“Whatever you hear, Baltimore did everything the right way,” Angelo said. “There were a lot of things happening in the draft room. We were getting a lot of calls, we just … dropped the ball. I dropped the ball. I can’t say anything more than that.”

Hopefully the ball he dropped won’t result in a much-needed fourth round pick.  

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