Upon further review: Bengals nix agreed upon trade with Eagles, sources say

• Ben BabyNov 10, 2026, 12:38 PM ET

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  Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

CINCINNATI -- Turns out the Cincinnati Bengals will not be adding Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie after all.

Following reports that the deal was tentatively confirmed, the Bengals are expected to back out following the revelation of a hidden cost, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

According to OverTheCap.com, Cincinnati would have lost a 2027 compensatory third-round draft pick on top of the sixth-round pick it was trading to the Eagles for Ebiketie.

As things stood heading into deadline day, the Bengals were set to get the extra pick because of an offset in free agency that benefited Cincinnati, largely because of the deal former defensive end Trey Hendrickson signed with the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason.

But once that came to light, the deal was rescinded.

Cincinnati was looking to add an edge rusher to bolster a defensive line that recently lost one of its best players. Rookie Cashius Howell, who was having a standout debut season, was placed on injured reserve following a right wrist injury he suffered in Week 8.

Howell has one sack, five quarterback hits and a 15.3% pressure rate in seven games this season. Ebiketie, who signed a one-year deal with the Eagles this offseason, has a 4.6% pressure rate and two quarterback hits in nine contests with Philadelphia.