Joe Mixon says he is backed '100 percent' by Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are preparing to hand out some hefty contract extensions on the offensive side of the football over the next few years. With quarterback Joe Burrow and his star wideout tandem of Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase all due for massive new contracts in the next summer or two, Cincy will have to cut corners elsewhere to afford such an expensive trio. One position where many teams don’t spend much money or have cut players that do is running back, and the Bengals have one of the most expensive in the league in Joe Mixon.

Mixon inked a four-year, $48 million deal after his own rookie contract and is currently taking home $12 million annually and will again in 2023-24, making him the sixth highest-paid RB in the NFL. That sort of money is hard to justify in the backfield when decent backs seem to go for a dime a dozen and you’re about to owe your other offensive playmakers a boatload.

All these factors led to a pretty tough Mixon dialogue this offseason, with many Cincy fans ready to release him or at least restructure his contract like Aaron Jones, who opted to take less money from Green Bay rather than be cut (in all likelihood). However, to many, Mixon is still a fan favorite Bengal and loyalty won out in the end as Cincy opted to keep him at least for one more year.

“You hear a lot of noise, but at the same time, when you don’t pay attention and you don’t see it, none of that affects you,” Mixon said of the offseason smoke around him. “What matters most is Mike Brown. He comes up to me at practice and he’s always happy to see me, and that’s the best feeling. It don’t get no better than that.”

That relationship between player and owner is something Joe Mixon does not take for granted, and he knows that loyalty from the longtime Cincinnati owner is a big reason why he’s still around to tote the rock.

“He’s the owner, and he makes the decisions. He embraced me since day one and I love Mike and I know Mike loves me too, so it’s a great thing to have. I feel like our front office, everybody is great to me, everybody has backed me 100 percent, and it’s a great feeling. Just the love and support that I get from them continuously. Very appreciative. Words really don’t explain the true feeling of what that means to me.”

Sounds like Mixon is still very much an integral part of the Bengals’ organization, even if his price may be a tad too much to fork over to a running back in this day and age.