Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

On the radar for several weeks, the Joe Mixon pay-cut situation still lingers for the Bengals. The seventh-year veteran went through Cincinnati’s minicamp in his usual starting role, but he is still not a lock to be on the team when it begins padded practices in August.

While vested veterans’ salaries do not become guaranteed until the Tuesday before Week 1, the Bengals and Mixon want this situation resolved “sooner rather than later,” Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Mixon, 27 in July, is tied to a $9.4MM base salary this year; the Bengals have long aimed to reduce that.

This probably is not going over well with Mixon, but his status has been an uncertainty since before the running back position began sustaining steady body blows. Bengals executive VP Duke Tobin said back at the Combine that Mixon’s status on the 2023 roster would be determined, and word of a pay-cut request emerged in mid-April.

As we wrap up June, Mixon remains tied to the four-year, $48MM contract he signed just before the 2020 season. The Bengals may be waiting to hammer out their Joe Burrow extension before addressing the Mixon matter, but no updates have come out on the quarterback’s negotiations in some time. With Burrow’s talks partially tied to how the Chargers proceed with Justin Herbert, the team may need to reach a Mixon agreement before Burrow signs.

This year has brought grim updates for the running back position. The Cowboys and Vikings shed two of the position’s top four deals from their respective payrolls, releasing Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook. Although Aaron Jones‘ restructure came with more 2023 security, the Packers back agreed to a $5MM pay cut. The Chargers refused to give Austin Ekeler, the NFL’s touchdown leader in each of the past two seasons, a raise; a minor incentive package became the solution instead. Miles Sanders‘ $6.35MM-per-year contract led the way for a deep free agency class this year. None of the three franchise-tagged backs — Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard — have extensions in place. Sanders said this week that “it sucks to be a running back right now.”

The developments of the past few months may point to the Bengals asking for a significant Mixon reduction — perhaps more than the Packers $5MM Jones trim. With the likes of Elliott, Cook, Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt unsigned, the Bengals still have outside options. But the team is unlikely to consider those UFAs until they drop their asking prices, Dehner adds. This creates an interesting scenario for the AFC power.

The Vikings were rumored to be seeking a Cook cut, but they are not believed to have offered a specific number before releasing their 2017 RB draftee. Coming off a down year, Mixon is seemingly short on options. But the Bengals did lose Samaje Perine to the Broncos in free agency. The Bengals are believed to have offered their veteran backup a deal similar to the two-year, $7.5MM terms the Broncos proposed. Cincinnati used a fifth-round pick on Illinois’ Chase Brown and has fifth-year player Trayveon Williams and third-year back Chris Evans rostered as well. None of the team’s other options profiles as a starter. Perine’s exit provides apparent Mixon leverage, but the cadre of accomplished free agents would stand to undercut it.

Mixon did earn a Pro Bowl nod after totaling 1,519 scrimmage yards and 16 touchdowns — both career-high marks — in 2021, helping the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI. This extension, like those given to Cook and Jones, has benefited the team. But the state of the market — and the contract statuses of Burrow, Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson — prompted the Bengals to make this play. Mixon’s response will either keep the Bengals’ stacked skill-position corps intact or add another big name to the free agent mix.

Shortly after the draft, fifth-year Bengals HC Zac Taylor indicated Joe Mixon‘s future is “here with the team.” The Bengals have employed Mixon as their starting back since his 2017 rookie season, and Samaje Perine declined their offer before signing with the Broncos.

But the prospect of a Mixon pay cut surfaced before Taylor’s comments. Despite the coach’s endorsement, the team is still planning on a Mixon pay reduction, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

[RELATED: Mixon Facing Misdemeanor Charge]

Although Mixon and Dalvin Cook were each part of a deep 2017 running back class, the former is a year younger. Mixon will turn 27 in July. But the Bengals are following the Vikings and Packers leads in aiming to adjust their seventh-year starter’s extension. Mixon and Cook signed their respective re-ups just before the 2020 season, with the Packers matching the Bengals’ Mixon AAV for Aaron Jones ($12MM). Cook’s is no longer an active contract, while Jones accepted a trim in exchange for more 2023 guarantees. Mixon’s deal calls for a $9.4MM 2023 base salary and a $12.8MM cap hit.

The Bengals remain ready to give Mixon, whose $12MM-per-year deal runs through 2024, a late-offseason ultimatum. Mixon refusing the reduction will likely lead to a release and the team searching for outside help, Dehner adds.

While this is certainly not an optimal time for Mixon to be forced into a salary trim, his 2023 status has been a talking point since the Combine. The Bengals, however, have the most significant contract in franchise history to hammer out before clarity emerges. Joe Burrow and the team have been in talks on what will almost certainly be a record-setting extension since late March. Burrow’s re-up will change Cincinnati’s blueprint, and it may well affect how the team navigates its receiver situation. And Mixon’s future will be impacted by Burrow’s deal.

But the Bengals went through their offseason program with Mixon looking again like a central figure in their offense, per Dehner. The former second-round pick has started 71 games and ripped off three 1,000-yard seasons. Last year was not one of them, with Mixon totaling just 814 rushing yards and missing three games. Mixon’s rushing yards-per-game number dropped from 75.3 in 2021 to 58.1 last season. That said, the Oklahoma alum did add a career-best 441 receiving yards. Mixon has logged 1,545 career touches. Since 2017, only Ezekiel Elliott, Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara have topped that. His age aside, Mixon is on the downside of his career.

Mixon may reluctantly agree to the Bengals’ terms, seeing as this marks the best opportunity to remain a full-time back — especially with Perine out of the mix. While he could also hold the line and see if a Bengals team aiming to dethrone the Chiefs is keen on losing a proven upper-echelon back, the Bengals would have free agency options as well. Four-year Browns back Kareem Hunt still available. Cook also is taking his time, waiting for a competitive offer on a contending team. Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Darrell Henderson are also available. As for in-house options, the Bengals drafted Illinois’ Chase Brown in the fifth round. He joins fifth-year back Trayveon Williams and 2021 sixth-rounder Chris Evans on Cincy’s depth chart.

The batch of accomplished backs on the market also will probably factor into the Bengals’ Mixon price point. So will the 2023 developments at the position. No back secured more than $6.5MM per year this offseason; the Cowboys and Vikings moved on from their pricey starters; Austin Ekeler was forced to accept a low-level Chargers incentive package after requesting a trade; the Giants have pulled Saquon Barkley offers off the table. While it will be interesting to see how this Mixon saga ends, it seems a near certainty his contract will be adjusted before Week 1.