Bengals Player Review: Will Joe Mixon continue to carry the backfield?

A bounce-back year for the long-time Bengals running back. It also may have been his last.

The Cincinnati Bengals were fighting several uphill battles in 2023. When we look back on the 2023 Bengals, we’ll remember the season of endless bad luck and costly injuries.

Still, considering they lost their franchise quarterback in Week 11, and he wasn’t fully healthy until the team was well into the second quarter of the season, the Bengals were in the postseason discussion all the way until Week 17.

It wasn’t a down year for everyone. Starting running back Joe Mixon had a statistically down year in 2022, but in 2023 he bounced back, leading the ground attack and, once again, going over 1,000 yards on the season.

2023 Season Review

Mixon carried the ball 257 times for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns. He did all that without having a single fumble, earning a PFF run grade of 73.8. He added 52 receptions for 376 yards and an additional three touchdowns.

The offense in 2023 suffered early in the season thanks to Burrow’s injured calf, which rendered him largely immobile compared to his normal self. Defenses were able to load the box and send a lot more pressure on Burrow than normal, knowing his ability to escape the pocket had been compromised. This kept the ground game largely ineffective, and it wasn’t until Burrow’s health improved that the offense really started to get rolling.

Then, Burrow was lost for the season in Week 11, and defenses once again collapsed on the offense, this time on Jake Browning, and once again, the running game stalled. However, after a season-low game with only eight attempts for 16 yards against the Steelers, the Bengals offense started to lean on the running game.

Browning put together a few great performances, and from Week 13 through Week 15, Mixon rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns. These three games also served as rookie running back Chase Brown’s coming out period. He was first involved in the offense at this point, earning more carries in Week 13 than his carries in all the games together leading up to that point.

Despite the Bengals ability to go on a short, late-season win streak that kept them in the playoff conversation, they were eliminated in Week 17 and missed the postseason for the first time in three years, being the only AFC North team to miss the playoffs.

Mixon’s 2023 season showed he’s still a reliable, bruising back who can make a difference as a receiver as well. He still struggles in pass protection, though, and he showed he lacks the level of explosiveness that Brown has.

2024 Outlook

Mixon’s future is shrouded in mystery due to a roster bonus of $3 million due on March 17. If he’s still on the team at that point, it would make zero sense to release him, because they’d already be paying him his bonus no matter what. That is why many believe the Bengals will make their first order of business releasing Mixon when the new league year begins. Doing so on or before March 16 would save them $6.1 million, which could not only help them keep a guy like DJ Reader in stripes but could possibly attract an outside free agent.

The Bengals aren’t in bad shape when it comes to cap space by any means, but conventional wisdom would advise against spending $8.85 million on a soon-to-be 28-year-old running back who can’t pass block and would be more expensive than another free agent who could be more effective in the offense.

The Brown family is nothing if not loyal, though. They kept Marvin Lewis as head coach for a billion years and the franchise isn’t well known for moving on from core players before their contract ends, and Mixon is absolutely a core player. He’s a fan favorite, a loud and positive presence in the locker room and on the sideline.

While I would advise against it, for obvious business reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mixon leading the backfield once again in 2024, even with his $8 million price tag.

If he does come back, he’ll once again serve as the lead back, but likely instead of acting as the bell cow, he and Brown and possibly another would split carries much more evenly. Then after a 2024 season that hopefully ends with a Super Bowl win, Mixon could try to stay or leave as an unrestricted free agent.

If he’s released before March 17, he’ll join names like Derrick Henry, Saquan Barkley, Tony Pollard, and Austin Ekeler on the market. With so many big names in free agency, the cost for a running back could be driven down, but he would be for sure signed, because he can absolutely still play at a high level in the right offense.