The Cincinnati Bengals have a reputation for being among the NFL’s most traditional teams. The franchise has a
history of unusually sticking with players well past their peak years, despite a few cap casualties over the last several
seasons. The actual query is, why are analysts now anticipating a different response from the Southwest Ohio
Franchise?
Cincinnati Joe Mixon, who was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, has been a mainstay of the
offensive backfield at Paycor Stadium even though his play hasn’t been as spectacular as it once was. He has also
faced criticism over the last several years as the team’s talent has increased dramatically over the previous five years,
making his bloated contract an obvious target for budget cuts.
The rumor that ESPN Fantasy Football Expert Matthew Berry had spoken with Cincinnati management about the
Oklahoma Product’s future and discovered that they intended to release him this offseason leaked on Wednesday
morning. Even though Mixon could be overpaid, it doesn’t really make sense to let him go at this time.
Joe Mixon of the Bengals
In the offseason, Mixon’s deal was renegotiated, resulting in a salary cap impact for the upcoming season of $8.85
million. Should the organization choose to part ways with him, there is a potential $2.75 million dead cap penalty.
According to Spotrac, this implies that the team would theoretically only save $6.1 million against the salary ceiling if
they released Mixon.
The organization appears satisfied with Chase Brown, a 2023 fifth-round pick, for his explosiveness and pass-
catching skills, but the 215-pound player isn’t equipped to compete for hard-earned yards at the goal line or in
circumstances requiring short yardage. Although I do have concerns about Mixon’s limited explosiveness, he has a
great goal-line ability and another goal-line option will probably save almost the same amount of money as that $6.1
million. For that reason, if the team adds another running back to replace Mixon, there probably won’t be any net
savings from removing him.
While saving $6 million on an older running back may seem like a wise move, Mixon is one of the most outspoken
leaders in the Cincinnati locker room, which is another major problem I have with this choice. In my opinion, there
are two kinds of leaders that are prominent players: those who lead by example and those who lead vocally. You need
someone to offer speeches in the locker room because this is an emotional sport, even though “lead by example”
types are also vital.
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I clearly remember Cincinnati cutting offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth, defensive tackle Domata Peko, and
linebacker Rey Maualuga during the 2017 offseason. Those three players were without a doubt the team’s biggest
leaders, even though Maualuga and Peko weren’t exactly superstars. As expected, the team had one of its worst
postseason droughts since the 1990s and the following season was a complete bust with no true leadership emerging.
Even if I’m not a big admirer of Mixon, I would be foolish to ignore the fact that he has a special place in the locker
room. They should just let him play out next season and keep him around until other obvious leaders than Joe
Burrow show up in the locker room, at the reduced price Cincinnati has talked him down to for the last year of his
deal.
