Bengals coach Zac Taylor addresses Cincinnati's deadline move that fell through

CINCINNATI (AP) — Coach Zac Taylor addressed the trade deadline deal that fell through for the Cincinnati Bengals , speaking Wednesday for “apologetic” director of player personnel Duke Tobin.

The Bengals were set to deal a sixth-round pick for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie on Tuesday. It turned out that if the Bengals would have made the move, they likely would have lost a 2027 third-round compensatory draft pick.

“As we got into it, obviously it was going to be a little more costly than we initially anticipated,” Taylor said. “(Tobin) wants to make clear Philly was a great trade partner. It was on our end, and that’s just the way things go. But we certainly have a ton of confidence in our front office and how they do things, and they’ve given us the players that have allowed us to be 6-2 right now and play at such a high level. So we’ll put that behind us and move forward, and just get excited for this game on Sunday.”

Tobin was not made available to the media.

Taylor said he spent most of trade deadline day on Tuesday preparing for this week’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I probably took three minutes of my day yesterday away from watching tape,” Taylor said. “I’ve got a lot of faith in how those guys operate, and we’ll just move forward with it.”

While the Bengals did not make a trade, their biggest competitors in the AFC did. The Kansas City Chiefs added wide receiver Josh Downs, the Buffalo Bills traded for safety Amani Hooker, the Jacksonville Jaguars added defensive tackle Jordan Davis and safety Jessie Bates III and the Denver Broncos traded for linebacker Daiyan Henley.

“I really like where we’re at,” Taylor said about the Bengals. “I think Duke really likes where we’re at, and I think you talk to players in the locker room, they really like where we’re at. So this is a team with a lot of confidence right now.”

Without Ebiketie on the roster, the Bengals will continue to have Cedric Johnson and Shemar Stewart playing notable roles in their defensive end room. Stewart, the Bengals’ first-round pick in 2025, stepped into the rotation two weeks ago when Cashius Howell went on the injured reserve list with a wrist injury.

“I have to know everyone’s assignment,” Stewart said last week. “I play everywhere, so I have to know everything. There’s a lot of verbiage. A lot of checks. A lot of things I have to remember and stay on top of. If I come in here and work, everything will work itself out.”

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