Joe Mixon Has Reportedly Had Conversations About A New Contract With The Cincinnati Bengals
Now that the Cincinnati Bengals think they have their quarterback of the future in Joe Burrow, rumors are they’d like to try and keep their running back of the present and future as well. To that end, a new report from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk says the team and Joe Mixon have started preliminary discussions about a new contract.
Mixon is entering into the final year of his rookie deal. He’s made it clear he’d rather not play the 2020 season with contract talks hanging over his head this coming season. The running back wants a new deal before fall camp – or what passes for fall camp – begins.
The Bengals’ director of player personnel Duke Tobin said the team is trying to oblige Mixon. Alper says Tobin recently sat down for an interview with Lance McCallister of 700 WLW and talked about how important the team thinks Mixon is to their success.
“Joe’s obviously a guy that’s shown a lot of ability. He’s in a year that he can be extended, and he is a guy that we visited with. We’ll go through those discussions and see if there is a fit or a match for a long-term contract with him, obviously a guy we value quite a bit. The great thing about Joe is he goes about it the right way… He’s the type of guy you want to lock up to a long-term deal. We’ll see if we can find the commonality to get that done over time here.”
As The Inquisitr reported in April, there rumors Mixon wants a deal as soon as possible. The running back is said to even be willing to sit out the preseason and fall camp if he doesn’t have a long term deal in place by then. The rumors about a possible holdout could stem from the fact Mixon has been looking to start contract talks for months.
He made comments in the media almost right after the regular season ended that he wanted to start having conversations with the team about a new deal. Most analysts believe the Bengals do not want to call the back’s bluff and see if he really will hold out if they don’t have to do so.
Mixon is set to enter the 2020 season as the Bengals’ starting running back for the second straight season. After rushing for just over 600 yards in 14 games and seven starts his rookie season, Mixon has run for over 1,000 yards each of the last two years. He’s also a back who can be a weapon through the air, having caught 30 or more passes every year he’s been in the NFL.
