Not sure why I wasn't able to attach the pictures, but here is the root in question

I would cut that off.

Figs just grow roots like this, whether in a pot or in the jungle. I don’t understand why one would feel a need to cut it off unless you were trying to bonsai it.

@Margaret Oh This fiddle leaf fig has one really long root that wrapped around the top of the grower pot. Can this be cut? Yes, it should be removed for 2 reasons. 1) It is a problem root that will keep circling the pot and eventually become one or more of the adjectives: girdling, encircling, crossing, growing straight up or down or back toward the center of the root mass, or j-hooked. 2) it has very few small roots attached, so it currently serves as plumbing with not much moving through it, and it isn't needed for anchorage; IOW, it's not a significant help to the plant and the extra room made by removing it provides additional space in which the fine roots that do all the plant's heavy lifting can grow. In any repotting session, it would be my first target.

How do you know which roots are okay to prune? I provided a list of problem roots above. The first target would be thick roots with not many fine roots growing from them. When removing these roots, target those not attached to the base of the trunk. Even roots that are at the base of the trunk can be shortened. A plants most vigorous tissues are in the root to shoot transition zone. These roots and branches that occur above thge soil line are the most vigorous on the plant. It's not an accident that rejuvenation pruning (cutting the top of the plant back hard) comes from the same root word (no pun) as juvenile - because you're cutting back to juvenile (most vigorous) tissues. The same holds true for roots. You do need to be measured about the volume of roots you take off, but your tendency to err on the safe side should keep you safe.

These images show how harsh I am when it comes to repotting. The first plant is a boxwood, the second a Ficus benjamina

You needn't be so heavy-handed with the pruners during a rep[ot. This just shows how I typically go about repotting. It makes a huge difference in growth rate and vitality over the long term - no comparison at all to potting up or ignoring rootwork altogether.

Also, it's almost impossible to get the soil off from the roots on the very top. They're super compacted. Is it fine to leave them as is? My suggestion is this: The first time you repot a plant is the hardest. Once it has been repotted, subsequent repots are much easier and faster. Try to set aside some free time when you won't feel pressured to do anything else, put on some music, take your time and fix as many root issues as you can, with most of the focus being on thick roots with few fine roots attached. Keep the roots wet for the entire time you're working them. That's important.

I tend to work toward a round pad of roots 2-3" deep.

This might be what a tree's roots look like after the first repotting session:

As the tree grows, the root mass will be a bit taller/deeper, but will still be maintained in a sort of hockey puck shape. For me, because I focus on bonsai, the appearance of the plant's surface roots is critical.

Powerful root base ^^^. Since your plant will likely never be formally judged, what the roots look like below the soil is of little concern, which doesn't mean you can ignore rootwork and expect results equal to what you get when rootwork is performed regularly - you can't - will never happen because root congestion is stressful and very often steals the lion's share of our plants' potential w/o us even knowing what we're losing.

Al