UPDATE: The Cincinnati Bengals have called off their trade for Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie.

Cincinnati would’ve lost its projected third-round compensatory pick had the trade gone through since Ebiketie was a free agent signing from this offseason. The Bengals will keep both their projected comp pick and sixth-round pick, for now.

View on Threads

---

The Cincinnati Bengals have made a deal just five hours before the NFL trade deadline.

As first reported by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Cincinnati has traded it’s 2027 sixth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for EDGE Arnold Ebiketie.

Ebiketie, a fifth-year player who turned 27 earlier this year, is now the 53rd player on the Bengals’ active roster.

Bengals land a replacement for rookie Cashius Howell

Cincinnati only played four defensive ends during their 34-17 Week 9 win on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. The club lost second-round pick Cashius Howell to a wrist injury, and will be without him for an unknown period of time.

Ebiketie, who played just 48% of Philly’s snaps this season, figures to come in and bring the depth the Bengals lost on the edge of their defensive line.

Howell was the No. 3 EDGE behind starters Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy. Mafe, a major free agent signing this offseason, has been one of the premier pass rushers in the league. Murphy has more pressures (11) than any EDGE in the NFL over the last two weeks.

Instead of simply leaning on last year’s first-round pick Shemar Stewart and key backup Cedric Johnson, Cincy is bringing in a player with 16.5 career sacks who just never quite got going in a new defense this season for the Eagles. Last season for the Atlanta Falcons, Ebiketie produced a pass rush win rate of 16.8%, the 12th-highest among EDGEs with significant snaps.

He has a history of being a proficient pass rusher, and that’s what the Bengals are counting on now from him.

Cincinnati deals with a notorious GM in Howie Roseman

Training with Philadelphia can always be tough considering it’s general manager, Howie Roseman, is great at extracting value from dealing away his own players. Just yesterday, he got a first-round pick and a future second-rounder for defense tackle Jordan Davis.

According to A to Z Sports’ Trade Simulator, the Bengals ended up with the better haul in this deal.

This wasn’t a season-altering deal by any means. Cincinnati is giving away a pick that is likely to be outside the first 200 in the upcoming draft for a player who can see the field immediately and make a notable impact. The Bengals defensive line is already the strength of the defense, and Ebiketie has a clear role in store for him with Howell sidelined.

The talent level of the roster has improved ever so slightly, and the cost of doing so was basically minimal. Ebiketie is also playing on a cheap one-year deal. This was a good deal for Cincy.

Grade: A-