On Sunday, social media was abuzz after a report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer stated that the Ravens were in contact with Terrance West, stating that they were going to take him with the 99th overall pick.
"They texted my agent and told him they were going to take me," West told the newspaper. "The Browns came up before them and I'm here now. It's all about the Browns, man."
Cleveland traded up with the 49ers and took West with the 94th pick.
Here's the interesting part: The Ravens have denied talking with West's agent, Marc Lillibridge, about taking the former Towson running back. And even Lillibridge has now publicly stated that this never happened.
First, the Ravens side of events. From assistant general manager Eric DeCosta, via the team's website: "The report that we texted an agent or a player before one of our picks is fictitious."
Lillibridge then tweeted the following:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/Ravens">@Ravens</a> DID NOT text me and say they were selecting <a href="https://twitter.com/Terrancewest28">@Terrancewest28</a> w/ pick 99. Like any good agent, I had prepared a list of teams who</p>— Marc Lillibridge (@NFLBridge) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLBridge/statuses/468498667553308672">May 19, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>(cont.) Showed sincere interest in Terrance. The Ravens were one of those teams. I texted him throughout entire 3rd round. The Browns traded</p>— Marc Lillibridge (@NFLBridge) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLBridge/statuses/468499233025572864">May 19, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>(Cont.) up and got their man. End of story. Can we now just play some football?</p>— Marc Lillibridge (@NFLBridge) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLBridge/statuses/468499527188885504">May 19, 2014</a></blockquote>
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All that said, this shouldn't suggest the Ravens weren't going to take West with the 99th overall pick if he was available. Obviously, the Ravens were on the list based on what Lillbridge was telling his client.
In addition, it would make little sense for the Ravens to talk with any agent about their draft plans. That could allow an agent to contact another team about their plans, which could then be thwarted.
It appears West took the information his agent was giving it and misconstrued it slightly. It's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. The Ravens and Lillibridge both cleared up West's comment and everyone can now move forward.