On Tuesday morning, it was initially announced that the Cincinnati Bengals would be trading for Philadelphia Eagles defender Arnold Ebiketie. However, it has since been revealed that the deal fell through, puzzling Bengals fans everywhere.
Now, more information has been revealed as to why the deal ended up not coming together despite an agreement being reached.
“Bengals are expected to back out of the trade for Arnold Ebiketie. The Bengals would have lost a third-round compensatory pick that they were receiving for Trey Hendrickson signing with Baltimore. Now this trade is expected to fall through,” reported ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on X, formerly Twitter.
It's unclear whether the Bengals initially believed that they would have been able to keep the pick that they received as a result of Hendrickson's departure, but clearly, there was some sort of communication that was rectified after the deal had already been widely reported on.
Fans on X were quick to roast the Bengals for the mishap.
“The Bengals saw the hidden fees at checkout and closed the tab,” wrote one fan.
“Bengals backing out of a trade over a comp pick is the most bengals thing ever lol,” wrote another.
Cincinnati has looked like a legit contender over the last few weeks, most recently picking up a big win over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid over the weekend. However, many believe that in order to take the next step and legitimately compete for a Super Bowl, the team needs to add more at the trade deadline, and they squandered an opportunity to do just that with this fiasco.