The Bengals were about to follow suit with other AFC teams by acquiring pieces at the trade deadline, until an unknown stipulation made them get cold feet.
Cincinnati had a trade set up to get edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie from the Eagles for a sixth-round pick in next year’s NFL draft.
Ebiketie has 25 tackles, three pressures and two quarterback hits in nine games for the Eagles.
What the Bengals didn’t originally know was that trading for Ebiketie would cost the franchise a projected third-round compensatory pick from Trey Hendrickson signing to Baltimore in free agency.
Nick Korte, who contributes to the contract-source site OverTheCap, was the first to point out the loophole.
Director of player personnel Duke Tobin later apologized to the Eagles for agreeing before consulting the NFL on the formula, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
According to Appendix V of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement: “If a club trades for a player who was a CFA (Compensatory Free Agent) 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.”
The Bengals possibly believed former guard Cordell Volson would count as one of their CFAs lost. However, because Volson did not play a single snap this season, he does not count toward the CFAs lost formula. Arnold Ebiketie signed as a compensatory free agent with the Eagles.
This latest trade rescission showcases a general manager rethinking the importance of draft capital. Before the season began, the Ravens took back a trade that would’ve seen their 2026 and 2027 first-round pick go to the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby.
During this year’s trade deadline, the Denver Broncos also saw a trade fall through for Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley.
The Bengals are receiving a correction to their compensatory picks.
In March 2024, Cincinnati wasn’t awarded the proper draft compensation for losing safety Jessie Bates III in free agency.
The NFL later issued a rare correction, upgrading the Bengals’ compensation from two sixth-round picks to a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft.
