A little after 4 p.m. EST on Saturday — after the NFL had made the transaction official, when there was no chance it could fall through — the Lions finally announced they had traded Shaun Rogers to Cleveland.

President Matt Millen and coach Rod Marinelli were unavailable for comment. But Browns coach Romeo Crennel said it all a few hours earlier at a news conference in Cleveland.

"Hey, this is the NFL," Crennel said, "and sometimes crazy things happen."

This was crazy.

The Lions agreed to trade Rogers to Cincinnati for third- and fifth-round draft picks Friday. But the deal fell through, and the Lions turned around and got a better deal.

They traded Rogers to Cleveland for a third-round pick and cornerback Leigh Bodden, a 26-year-old, five-year veteran who started 16 games and intercepted six passes last season.

Here's how it all went down:

The Lions were listening to offers from several teams for Rogers, the immensely talented but often underachieving defensive tackle. Cleveland general manager Phil Savage said he talked to Millen repeatedly at the scouting combine in Indianapolis and continued talking to him after they returned to their respective cities.

On Friday, the Browns traded a second-round pick to Green Bay for defensive tackle Corey Williams. Savage said he continued to talk to Millen but "just kind of wavered a little bit" about trading for Rogers, too.

The Lions agreed to trade Rogers to Cincinnati. The Lions confirmed the news about 3 p.m. The Bengals did not confirm it, but their Web site reported it along with many media outlets.

"Ultimately, they found a different trading partner, and we essentially thought it was over with," Savage said. "I texted Matt and said, `Hey, congratulations. If something changes or something were to happen, you know, let us know.'

"And about 5 o'clock last night, he called me back and said that the trade had not worked. It had fallen through. Would we still be interested? And we were."

Details are sketchy.

The Browns' Web site gave this account of what happened: The NFL office "rescinded" the Lions-Bengals trade, and the Lions called the Browns to say Rogers was still available.

The Bengals' Web site said this: "Apparently, during the delay after the trade was turned into the league office, the Lions went to the Browns to get a deal and got the player they wanted, cornerback Leigh Bodden, instead of the two picks."

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the sticking point with the Bengals deal was an NFL interpretation of the $1-million roster bonus Rogers was due Saturday. The league would not confirm that.

"This is team business and not appropriate for us to comment," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail.

Whatever went wrong, the Lions made a new deal with the Browns.

"It was a crazy day yesterday, as crazy as we've had since I've been here," Savage said.

Apparently, it was bittersweet for Millen, but sweet for Savage.

Asked about Rogers' problems in Detroit, Savage said: "That's a lot of talk out there. Obviously, we've talked to Shaun about him coming to Cleveland, that possibility. He seemed to be excited about it. I think the situation, the environment, this will be a fresh start, a new lease on life for him.

"Matt Millen would say the same thing. He loves Shaun Rogers, and he told me yesterday, `I've already told my people, "Now that they've added Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams together, wow.' `' Because he really thinks a lot of Shaun. But unfortunately, it wasn't going to work out there for him, so he needed a change of scenery."