Getty Image / Bryan M Bennett
Early on in this year’s NFL offseason, there were rumors that the Cincinnati Bengals could decide to release running back Joe Mixon in an effort to save some cap space.
Nixon has managed to avoid being cut so far, but that might not necessarily mean that his job is safe.
Yesterday, Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn discussed Mixon’s future with the team and while she stated that she still thinks he has plenty left in the tank, she also didn’t quite commit to him being the team’s starting running back in 2023.
Woof the difference between reading the answer and hearing it is astounding pic.twitter.com/8d1CEpvvQS
— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) March 30, 2023
There is a whole myriad of things that can happen. And I don’t want to imply that anything is going to happen or not going to happen because it all can depend on so many other things.
Mixon’s contract remains very cuttable if the Bengals were to decide they wanted to move forward with Samaje Perine or one of this year’s rookies as their starter.
Mixon carries a $12.75 million cap hit for the 2023 season, but the Bengals can save a little more than $7 million of that if they release him.
If the Bengals were to make that decision, it wouldn’t be the most shocking move.
Mixon is coming off of a down year where he wasn’t particularly efficient. In 14 games, he ran for just 814 yards while averaging a disappointing 3.9 yards per carry.
Perine was at least slightly more effective last season as he averaged 4.1 yards per carry.
There are also quite a few running backs available in this year’s draft that could potentially step right in and become a reliable option for the Bengals.
With these options still available to the Cincinnati Bengals, it looks like Joe Mixon’s job might not be as safe as many expected when he still hadn’t been released at the start of the league year.