Edelbrock metering rod trashed

Had some good weather and a bit of time, so I pulled my carb apart to put smaller jets in it, its been running rich for a while, thought it was the elevation I gained on my way back to school, so I finally went to the smaller jet that I know will work perfectly fine for me here. Anyways, I went to pull the metering rods out the top of the carb before I pulled the cover off, and one didn't want to come out. I pulled the other one, then pulled the top, and sure enough, the bottom of the rod was bent at a right angle. Had to bend it back to get it out, but I have no idea how that happened. Is it possible for that to happen in the carb, or was it just a sloppy assembly the last time I put it together, bending the rod on its way in. I test fit other rods and ran the throttle through to WOT and everything seemed fine, so I figure it's probably just sloppy assembly, but I also don't want to risk destroying my other rods.