Heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, there were already some questions about the future of running back Joe Mixon with the Cincinnati Bengals, and when the team selected Illinois Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown in the fifth round, many saw that as a sign that the Bengals were ready to part ways with Mixon. But apparently, that’s not the case.
Following the NFL Draft, Bengals coach Zac Taylor met with the media and he addressed the future of Joe Mixon, making it clear that he wants Mixon to remain a part of the Bengals team.
“His future is here with the team,” Taylor said in his post-draft news conference Saturday according to Ben Baby of ESPN. “I like Joe Mixon.”
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said that the team planned to add a running back in the draft all along.
“I knew we needed to add one at some point during the draft and wasn’t really sure what that was going to look like, or where that was going to be,” Callahan said Saturday. “Obviously, had high regard for Chase kind of all the way through the process. It turns out he was there at the right spot for us.”
We’ll have to see what Mixon’s future with the team looks like – whether it’s on a restructured deal or whether they do part ways with him after all – but it sounds like for now, they plan to keep him.
[ESPN]