How one tweet apparently caused Bengals to nix trade and enrage Eagles
No matter what happens before Tuesday’s 4 p.m.NFL trade deadline, the star of the day is an unlikely one.Nick Korte, whose handle on X is @nickkorte, where he described himself as a contributor to the site OverTheCap.com with a focus on NFL contract analysis, blew up potentially one of the bigger deals of the day.After NFL insider for ESPN and the NFL Network Ian Rapoport reported that the Philadelphia Eagles were trading edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick, the afternoon took a wild turn.What seemed like a straightforward transaction, as the Eagles were already in full sell mode and there was plenty of talk of defensive linemen being on the move, quickly pivoted to something else, as Korte noted a discrepancy.Korte responded to Rapoport’s news by pointing out to the world — and, evidently, the Bengals’ front office — that because Ebiteke was signed by the Eagles as a compensatory free agent, Cincinnati would lose a 2027 third-round compensatory pick they received when Trey Hendrickson went to the Baltimore Ravens.The reason?Cincinnati had already lost three compensatory free agents and signed two — so picking up the sixth-rounder Tuesday would leave them ineligible for the third-rounder they had coming for Hendrickson.To essentially give up a third-round pick, as well as the sixth-rounder, was evidently too much for the Bengals, as after Korte’s post, Rapoport reported the Bengals “called off this trade with an eye toward keeping a future comp pick they would’ve lost with this deal.
Agreement was reached, but not official.’’Rapoport’s colleague at the NFL Network, Mike Garafolo reported the Eagles were not happy with the trade being pulled back.Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round (38th overall) in 2022 out of Penn State, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Ebikete spent the first four seasons of his career in Atlanta before signing with the Eagles last offseason.In nine games with...