Sports · American Football · 5 hrs ago
Bengals Call Off Ebiketie Trade to Protect 2027 Compensatory Pick
The Cincinnati Bengals called off an agreed trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie.
Cincinnati would have sent Philadelphia a 2027 sixth-round pick for the 27-year-old defender.
The deal was not yet official when the Bengals realized it could cost them a 2027 third-round compensatory pick for Trey Hendrickson, who left in free agency to sign with Baltimore.
NFL rules count a player signed as a compensatory free agent toward the acquiring team's calculations if he is traded during that league year.
The Bengals are trying to strengthen their pass rush after rookie Cashius Howell went on injured reserve, and their other edge rushers have had limited sack totals apart from Boye Mafe.
Cincinnati may look elsewhere for edge help, while Ebiketie's future with Philadelphia remains uncertain.
The Cincinnati Bengals called off an agreed trade to acquire edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cincinnati had agreed to send Philadelphia a 2027 sixth-round draft pick for Ebiketie.
The Bengals concluded that completing the trade would cost them a 2027 third-round compensatory pick.
That pick was due to Cincinnati after edge rusher Trey Hendrickson signed with Baltimore in free agency.
- Who
- The Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.
- What
- The teams called off an agreed trade that would have sent Arnold Ebiketie to Cincinnati for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
- When
- Nov. 10, 2026.
- Where
- Cincinnati and Philadelphia; the trade was not completed.
- Why
- The Bengals determined the trade would cost them a 2027 third-round compensatory pick.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Bengals and Eagles agreed to a trade sending Arnold Ebiketie to Cincinnati for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Cincinnati called off the trade after determining it could lose a 2027 third-round compensatory pick.
- Player
- Arnold Ebiketie
- Teams
- Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles
- Proposed compensation
- Bengals would send a 2027 sixth-round pick
- At-risk pick
- 2027 third-round compensatory pick
- Reason for pick
- Trey Hendrickson signed with Baltimore in free agency
2 sources
What people are saying
If a Club trades for a player who was a CFA during that League Year, whether the player was another Club's CFA or the acquiring Club's own CFA, the player will be considered a CFA gained by the acquiring Club and will be included in the Compensatory netting process described above.
Posts on X
The #Bengals have now called off this trade with an eye toward keeping a future comp pick they would've lost with this deal. Agreement was reached, but not official.
Arnold Ebiketie was signed as a compensatory free agent by the Eagles. The Bengals lost 3 CFAs and signed 2 (Cordell Volson not qualifying), thus while they gain a 2027 6th rounder, they lose a 2027 3rd round comp pick that was via Trey Hendrickson going to Baltimore.
I'm curious if the Bengals are seeing the cancellation chart different than I am. They may think that they have an extra compensatory free agent lost to use with Cordell Volson, but by my program he needs to play snaps this season in order to qualify as a CFA.