The Bengals took a 180 on their approach to ship Joe Mixon, initially releasing him, but then trading him to Houston… why?
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HOUSTON, Texas– Confusion is a critical part of football. In the offseason, maybe not so much. The Cincinnati Bengals pulled a complete 180 in terms of how they got rid of their superstar running back Joe Mixon. The Bengals initially seemed to release him, but only a couple hours later, went back on their statement and announced they traded him to the Houston Texans.
The deal never became final to release Mixon, and the Texans, afraid to enter a true free-for-all in free agency, wanted first dibs on the 28-year-old running back and ended up being the ultimate suitor for the Bengals. The Texans, fresh off what seemed like a Cinderella run along with a high-powered explosive offense, wanted even more firepower. Especially when it comes to the ground game. The Bengals wanted to rid Mixon off their books after signing former Colts RB Zack Moss to a two-year, $8 million deal.
Mixon will now get a new start in Houston, a team which picked up Mixon’s contract from the Bengals. Mixon ranks third in rushing yards in Bengals’ history with 6,412 and second in rushing touchdowns– 49. Moss brings a new element of explosive flair to the Bengals while Mixon was aging and taking up valuable cap space on the Cincy roster.
According to ESPN Stats & Information data, before Week 18, when Cincinnati was eliminated from playoff contention, the Bengals ranked 27th in the NFL in running back carries that went for 12 or more yards.
Houston will now have a semblance of a rushing attack after landing 28th in the league last year. In tandem with third-year veteran Dameon Pierce who had a promising rookie year with 939 yards but whose production managed to fall off massively in his second year, failing to accumulate half of that total with 416 yards.
The pick sent to Cincinnati has been undisclosed and has been kept close to both organizations and will update once the information has released. After signing Moss, the writing was on the wall for both the Bengals’ organization and Mixon himself. By trading Mixon, the Bengals were able to recoup some draft capital (albeit unknown) and manage to get something out of a player they were going to cut anyway.
