Zac Taylor Addresses Bengals’ Failed Arnold Ebiketie Trade

The Eagles, however, signed Arnold Ebiketie during the pre-draft free agency window. Because they did so, the Bengals acquiring the depth edge rusher would have counted toward their comp formula. OverTheCap’s Nick Korte, who specializes in the compensatory system, pointed out on X shortly after news of the agreement surfaced this agreed-upon trade would have stripped the Bengals of the 2027 third-round pick they are in line to receive for losing Trey Hendrickson.

It appears the Bengals were alerted to this wrinkle in real time. Rather than trading for a depth piece and losing a third-round pick, the AFC North team called off the trade. Without specifying the error the Bengals made, Zac Taylor confirmed the Bengals became aware of the cost the Ebiketie addition would bring.

“Obviously, we tried something (Tuesday), and Duke (Tobin) was very explicit with me when he came and spoke to me of how he wanted this portrayed,” Taylor said of the de facto Bengals GM’s message (via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway). “And I’m not comfortable doing it, but I’m going to do what he asked.

“We did make an effort to put some depth in there in place of Cashius (Howell). As we got into it, obviously it was going to be a little more costly than we initially anticipated. So, (Tobin) is really apologetic about it and wants to make clear Philly was a great trade partner; it was on our end, and that’s just the way things go.”

Taylor expressing an issue discussing the matter is certainly interesting, as is Tobin not making himself available to address the error. The Bengals have a small personnel department for a modern NFL franchise, and they are regularly criticized for frugality. This issue does not exactly pertain to the general criticism lobbed at the club — one that surfaced last year involving Hendrickson’s push for future guarantees — but it is obviously a bad look for the team.

The Bengals were on the other end of a failed trade agreement at the 2017 deadline, when the Browns were at fault for the AFC North rivals’ A.J. McCarron swap falling through. That was a timing error, however, and McCarron stayed with Cincinnati rather than heading to Cleveland. Ebiketie is on a one-year, $4.3MM deal — one he is poised to finish out with the Eagles, who were in the rare position as a deadline seller. The former Falcons second-round pick finished with six sacks in 2023 and 2024 but does not have a sack or a tackle for loss this season.

Howell underwent wrist surgery last week and is on IR . The Bengals, who rarely make in-season trade acquisitions, have Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy in place as defensive end starters. They have not seen tools-y first-rounder Shemar Stewart make much of an impact, and he had been a healthy scratch at points in his second season. This led to trade rumors involving the Texas A&M product, but he remains with the team. Stewart played in Cincinnati’s past two games, joining Cedric Johnson as a rotational player.

The Bengals retained Tobin and Taylor after a disappointing 2025 season , the team’s third straight year falling short of the playoffs. Tobin has been with the club since 1999, and although owner Mike Brown carries the GM title, he is 91. Tobin has operated as Cincy’s de facto GM for many years. While this is a bad look, the Bengals are 6-2. Both power brokers appear comfortable in their positions amid a bounce-back season.