Taylor Says Tobin Is Apologetic After Bengals Backed Out of Ebiketie Trade

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Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor said director of player personnel Duke Tobin told him how he wanted the failed Arnold Ebiketie trade portrayed, per Pro Football Talk.
The Bengals agreed to send a sixth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for the edge rusher, then backed out Tuesday.
The deal would have cost Cincinnati a 2027 compensatory third-round pick tied to Trey Hendrickson’s contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

Zac Taylor Delivers Duke Tobin’s Message on the Collapsed Ebiketie Deal

At his Wednesday press conference, Zac Taylor spoke for his boss. The Bengals head coach explained the team’s reversal on Ebiketie from the viewpoint of Tobin, the director of player personnel and the club’s de facto general manager. Taylor made clear that he was following instructions.

“Obviously, we tried something yesterday,” Taylor said. “Duke was very explicit with me when he came and spoke to me about how he wanted this portrayed. 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, it was going to be more costly than we initially anticipated.

“He’s really apologetic about it and wants it made clear — Philly was a great trade partner. It was on our end. Certainly, we have a ton of confidence in our front office and how they do things. They’ve given us the players that have allowed us to be 6-2 right now, and playing at such a high level. So, we’ll put that behind us and move forward, and just get excited for this game on Sunday. Our locker room is in a great place right now.”

The Compensatory Pick Rule That Ended the Trade

The Bengals had a deal in place. Tuesday morning, Cincinnati was set to send a sixth-round pick to Philadelphia for Ebiketie, who signed a one-year deal with the Eagles this offseason. Then the cost surfaced.

Nick Korte of Over The Cap pointed out that the Eagles signed Ebiketie as a compensatory free agent. Cincinnati lost three compensatory free agents and signed two. Under the compensatory formula, adding Ebiketie meant the Bengals would give up a 2027 compensatory third-round pick, the one that came to Cincinnati after Hendrickson signed with the Ravens. Heading into deadline day, an offset in free agency had put the extra pick in Cincinnati’s column.

The league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement covers the situation. The clause reads: “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.”

A post from the account Troy_OTC (@TexansCap) summed up the third-round loss this way: “Oh that’s brutal on the 3rd round comp pick! as noted by @nickkorte” Once the cost came to light, the Bengals rescinded the deal. Korte has been in this spot with Cincinnati before. He helped the Bengals secure a top-100 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after a compensatory mix-up.

What Taylor Said About the Front Office and the Locker Room

Taylor did not say who missed the rule. He said Tobin did not walk him through how it all unfolded, and he did not ask.

“It doesn’t really matter to me. It probably took three minutes of my day yesterday away from watching tape,” Taylor said. “So, got a lot of faith in how those guys operate and we’ll just move forward with it.”

The Bengals made no other deadline move, and Taylor said he and Tobin like where the roster stands. Cincinnati is 6-2.

“I think you can talk to the players in the locker room, they really like where we’re at,” Taylor said. “So, this is a team with a lot of confidence right now. I know it’s a fun period of time — the weeks leading up to the trade deadline — for fans … but the truth is, we really like where we’re at. Our guys are playing with a high degree of confidence and we’ll continue to move forward.”

Why Cincinnati Wanted an Edge Rusher

Cincinnati went shopping for pass-rush help after rookie Cashius Howell went on injured reserve with 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 has a 4.6% pressure rate and two quarterback hits in nine games with Philadelphia.

Other teams fielded deadline questions too. Jets receiver Garrett Wilson said he wants to stay in New York, and his future with the Jets was a live topic before the Nov. 10 deadline.

In San Francisco, Brandon Aiyuk started the reinstatement process earlier this month while coach Kyle Shanahan said he has no expectation about what comes next.

The Bengals made no deadline additions. They are 6-2 with Ebiketie still in Philadelphia and Howell on injured reserve, and Taylor says the team is moving on to Sunday’s game.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.