CINCINNATI – The Bengals hope to sign a long-term contract with Joe Mixon before the start of the season.
The 2017 second-round pick passed the 1,100-yard rushing mark in each of the past two seasons.
The broker market changed earlier this month when the Titans signed Derrick Henry to a four-year, $ 50 million contract.
Bengals analyst Dave Lapham would give Mixon an extension that is comparable to Henry’s deal.
“Yes, I would. I would give Joe Mixon similar treatment,” Lapham told Dan Hoard on the Bengals Booth podcast. “Joe obviously was a huge factor, huge in the second half of the season last year. Without AJ (Green) around and without having the airstrike they had and knowing Joe Mixon was going to run football – he was still is one of the best running backs in the National Football League in the last eight games of the season. Obviously a lightning rod for the rest of the team. The boys gravitate towards him. They feed off his energy. He provides a lot of energy. A great player I would. I would write to him if I could. “
Mixon, 24, has been one of the Bengals’ most consistent players in the past two seasons. He is one of the rare runners who can play at a high level in all three losses.
The coaching staff should give Mixon a bigger role in the passing game. He has the talent of having 50-60 receptions in one season. Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow was very successful pitching running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire at LSU.
Both Hoard and Lapham agreed that a contract worth between $ 10 and $ 12 million per season makes sense for Mixon and the Bengals.
“Mixon is at the upper back level in the National Football League,” Lapham said. “Joe also won’t hesitate to get his nose dirty in pass protection. It sure is a full back.”
Listen to their entire conversation on the Bengals Booth podcast below:
