The Bengals and RB Joe Mixon have come to an agreement on a restructured contract. This new deal reportedly brings his base salary down from $9.4M to just under $6M.
Reports have been out for some time now, stating that Mixon would have to give up a portion of his non-guaranteed salary in order to remain with the club. With the way the league generally views RB’s these days, his high salary was getting harder to justify, and the large amount of non-guaranteed money remaining on the contrat gave the Bengals leverage in the situation.
The freed up money could, in-part, go towards another free agent. Potentially some more help at DT or TE. However, this move was most likely done with looming contract extensions in mind. Joe Burrow’s mega deal is likely to come this summer, and the Benals surely would like to have Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson extended too.
As for Mixon, his spot on the roster is seemingly safe now, and the firm expectation is that he will remain the bellcow for the 2023 season.
Featured Image Via: Erik Drost (CC)