Joe Mixon Could Return For Week 4
- Bengals running back Joe Mixon could potentially return to the field in time for Week 4, per La Canfora. Mixon underwent knee surgery immediately following Cincinnati’s Week 3 Thursday night victory, and initial assessments indicated he could be sidelined two-to-four weeks. However, because the Bengals played mid-week in Week 3, Mixon’s timeline could be sped up, meaning he could return to action when Cincinnati faces Atlanta next Sunday. A second-round pick in 2017, Mixon was outstanding during the Bengals’ season opener, averaging more than 5.5 yards per carry on the ground while adding five receptions in the passing game. Backup Giovani Bernard is holding down the fort while Mixon is out, while the Bengals also have Mark Walton and Thomas Rawls on their running back depth chart.
Bengals’ Billy Price To Miss Time
The Bengals will be without center Billy Price for a while thanks to a lower left leg injury, as Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Price says he’ll be in a walking boot “24/7” before team doctors re-evaluate him in two weeks. 
“Finally figured out what it was this morning,” Price said. “Last couple days was just trying to figure out what it is and what’s the plan going forward. They thought it was an ankle now turned to a foot, there wasn’t any swelling and it wasn’t Lisfranc, so just thankful for that. That’s great news.”
The Price injury hurts (no pun intended), particularly with running back Joe Mixon also on the shelf for 2-4 weeks with a minor meniscus tear. The 2-0 Bengals will go up against the Panthers and Falcons in the next two weeks without two offensive starters, and their absence could stretch into October contests against the Dolphins and Steelers.
For however long they’re out, the Bengals will be relying on running back Giovani Bernard and fill-in center Trey Hopkins to hold down the fort.
Bengals Sign RB Thomas Rawls
The Bengals have signed running back Thomas Rawls, according to a club announcement. To make room, fellow running back Tra Carson has been waived/injured. 
Rawls spent the offseason with the Jets and many believed that he would emerge as an active participant in their running back committee. However, he was bounced during the club’s final cuts, and placed back on the free agent pile. Rawls flashed as a rookie with the Seahawks, amassing 830 yards in 2015. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much in the last two years, so he’s looking to prove himself all over again.
Rawls will provide the Bengals with depth at running back while Joe Mixon heals up from a knee issue. In the interim, Giovani Bernard is expected to serve as the lead back with fourth-round pick Mark Walton as his primary understudy.
Bengals Work Out Rawls, Toussaint, Others
- With Joe Mixon out for a bit, the Bengals brought in a host of running backs for Tuesday workouts. Thomas Rawls, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Troymaine Pope and Matthew Dayes trekked to Cincinnati for auditions, Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan tweets.
Bengals Sign K Randy Bullock To Extension
The Bengals signed kicker Randy Bullock to a two-year contract extension, according to a team announcement. Bullock was slated to hit free agency after the 2018 season, but the new deal will keep Bullock in the fold through the 2020 campaign. The new deal will give him $4.205MM in new money, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Bullock, 28, nailed 18 of 20 field goal attempts and 31 of 33 extra point tries last year. He’s off to a hot start this year as well, having connected on all four of his field goal tries and all eight of his XPs. On Thursday night, he iced 28-yard and 40-yard field goal tries in the fourth quarter to pad the Bengals’ lead in their win over the Ravens.
The veteran will earn $790K in 2018 before his new add-on kicks in. Bullock and the Bengals will look to stay undefeated when they take on the 1-1 Panthers on Sunday.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/17/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s of Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- G Jonathan Cooper, G Dillon Day, G Jamil Douglas, C T.J. Johnson, G Austin Pasztor, G Ian Silberman, T Darrell Williams. (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley)
Cincinnati Bengals
- S Quin Blanding, DT Joshua Frazier, S Mike Mitchell, DT Elijah Qualls, DE Charles Tapper (Twitter links via Balzer and Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan)
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
- S Andrew Adams, CB David Amerson, CB Alex Carter, CB Michael Hunter, CB Jeremy Lane (via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter)
Indianapolis Colts
- CB Johnathan Alston, CB De’Vante Bausby, S Kurtis Drummond, Jackson Porter, CB Josh Shaw (Visit, link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- P Joseph Davidson (link)
New York Jets
- CB De’Vante Bausby, DT Michael Bennett, WR Jace Billingsley, T Gerhard de Beer, LB Azeem Victor, Adolphus Washington (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- G Kofi Amichia, G Spencer Drango, G Kaleb Johnson, T Rees Odhiambo (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- TE Nick O’Leary (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Nick Williams (link)
Washington Redskins
- TE Evan Baylis, TE Pharaoh Brown, TE Vince Mayle, WR Tre McBride, QB Josh Woodrum (link)
Joe Mixon's Surgery Went Well
- Joe Mixon underwent knee surgery and is set to miss between two and four weeks of Bengals action. The surgery involving a small particle in Mixon’s knee being removed went well, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports. This would explain the positive outlook the second-year running back’s received. Bengals brass initially feared Mixon would miss up to six games.
Bengals’ Joe Mixon To Miss 2-4 Weeks
Joe Mixon has already undergone surgery to repair a recent knee issue and will be out for a bit. However, the Bengals running back received some good news on this front.
A two- to four-week timetable now exists for Mixon’s recovery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. But the Bengals’ initial expectation was for their starting running back to miss between four and six weeks, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter), so the second-year player encountered a less troublesome setback than initial fears indicated.
It’s possible, with the Bengals on a mini-bye because of their Thursday-night assignment, Mixon could miss merely one game — Week 3 against the Panthers — according to Rapoport. That might be pushing it, however, given the team’s worries at this process’ outset. The Bengals face the Falcons in Week 4; both of these upcoming NFC South contests are road games, however. Cincinnati then hosts Miami and Pittsburgh in Weeks 5 and 6.
Mixon injured his right knee in the Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Ravens. He’s off to a strong start, rushing for 179 yards (4.7 per carry) and a touchdown and totaling 57 receiving yards on just six catches. Passing-down back Giovani Bernard figures to see the bulk of the work during Mixon’s absence, just as he did when Mixon missed time in December of last year.
Bengals Fear Joe Mixon Needs Knee Surgery
UPDATE: Mixon will have a procedure to remove a “small particle in his knee that was dislodged Thursday night” on Saturday according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Schefter notes the operation is expected to sideline Mixon for just two weeks.
Joe Mixon missed part of Thursday night’s game, and the Bengals fear he’ll have to miss more time because of the knee injury he’s now battling.
The Bengals are concerned their starting running back will need to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter). Mixon will seek a second opinion.
While having a knee scoped is not a season-ending development in most cases, it almost certainly would cause the second-year back to miss time. Mixon’s off to a good start, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and it’s helped the Bengals to a 2-0 record.
Mixon missing games would mean plenty of Giovani Bernard snaps. While the longtime Bengal is not a traditional between-the-tackles grinder, he’s in his sixth season with the team and now resides as the unquestioned top backup after Jeremy Hill‘s free agency departure.
Behind Bernard sit fourth-round rookie Mark Walton and third-year UDFA Tra Carson. Neither has recorded an NFL carry.
Bengals' Billy Price Has Foot Sprain
- Linebacker C.J. Mosley did not suffer any ligament damage in the Ravens‘ Thursday night loss to the Bengals, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Mosley may miss Baltimore’s Week 3 contest against Denver, Harbaugh doesn’t think Mosley is facing a long-term absence. For what it’s worth, the Ravens announced Mosley had a bone bruise when he left last night’s game. As Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes, Mosley has arguably become Baltimore’s most indispensable defender, so the Ravens will be hard-pressed to replace him for any period of time. Mosley, 26, is currently playing out the final year of his contract, but he hadn’t progressed on an extension with the Ravens as of July.
- Elsewhere from Thursday night’s game, Bengals center Billy Price suffered a foot sprain, according to head coach Marvin Lewis (Twitter link via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The injury doesn’t sound all that serious, as Lewis indicated he was “surprised” Price wasn’t cleared to return to Cincinnati’s eventual victory. Price, the 21st overall selection in this year’s draft, was part of a Bengals offensive line overhaul that also included the acquisition of left tackle Cordy Glenn. If Price is forced to miss action, he’ll be replaced by reserve Trey Hopkins, who started 12 games for Cincinnati in 2017.