Bengals call off Arnold Ebiketie trade with Eagles after nearly botching compensatory pick situation

The Cincinnati Bengals' trade to acquire Arnold Ebiketie from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round draft pick has officially fallen through, as reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. While the teams agreed to the deal, it had not yet become official before the Bengals realized major compensatory pick ramifications may be tied to finalizing the move.

On the surface, it looked like a fairly ordinary deal: Cincinnati would acquire a rotational pass rusher for a late-round pick. The Bengals are going for a Super Bowl this year, while Philadelphia has spent most of this deadline gearing up for a draft-heavy reload. As it turns out, though, Cincinnati's front office nearly committed a major gaffe with the trade. By acquiring Ebiketie, whom the Eagles signed as a compensatory free agent this offseason, the Bengals would have forfeited the 2027 third-round compensatory pick they were set to acquire after losing Trey Hendrickson in free agency. Nick Korte, who contributes to the contract source site OverTheCap, was first to point this out.

Oh that's brutal on the 3rd round comp pick! as noted by @nickkorte pic.twitter.com/OwwyNB71PA

Why does Ebiketie count against the Bengals' formula, you ask? According to Appendix V…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/