Did a post on X cause the Bengals to back out of the Ebiketie trade with the Eagles? Here’s how a social media user saved them a compensatory pick

The Cincinnati Bengals moved to trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire defensive end Arnold Ebiketie on Tuesday, November 10, ahead of the NFL trade deadline. As reports emerged about the trade an X user went on to point out a detail about the trade that led to the Bengals backing out, according to The Athletic’s senior NFL writer, Jonathan Jones.

The trade would have come as the Eagles sent their defensive tackle Jordan Davis to the Tennessee Titans. Both Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers both acquired wide receivers, Josh Downs and Keenan Allen respectively.

X user saved the Bengals from a costly trade

As the news of the trade emerged, X user and Over The Cap contributor, Nick Korte drew attention to something that would save the Bengals from a costly trade. Korte pointed out that the Bengals acquiring Ebiketie would mean them losing their compensatory third-round draft pick for their loss of Trey Hendrickson in the offseason.

Reacting to a report of the trade, Korte said, “Arnold Ebiketie was signed as a compensatory free agent (CFA) by the Eagles…The Bengals lost 3 CFAs and signed 2, thus while they gain a 2027 6th rounder, they lose a 2027 3rd round comp (compensatory) pick that was via Trey Hendrickson going to Baltimore (Ravens).”

The Bengals later backed out of the trade at the last second before the deal was finalized when they learned of the situation. Korte’s post was the likely reason for the Bengals backing out, according to The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones.

During the offseason, the Bengals lost three compensatory free agents, these include Noah Fant who went to New Orleans Saints, Joseph Ossai who went to the New York Jets and Hendrickson. They gained two compensatory free agents, including Bryan Cook who was previously with the Chiefs and Boye Mafe who was with the Seattle Seahawks. This trade would have cancelled out the 3rd round compensatory pick.

According to Jonathan Jones, the Bengals were unaware about the compensatory pick issue. Once it was raised, they decided to back out of the deal.

This isn’t Korte’s first time saving the Bengals

According to several accounts on X and The Enquirer, Korte has helped the Cincinnati Bengals once before. Korte in March 2024, pointed out that the team was missing a 3rd round compensatory pick after Jessie Bates departed. The NFL later acknowledged the error and awarded the Bengals the compensatory draft pick.