Could RB Joe Mixon be a Bengals cut candidate?

Joe Mixon has emerged as one of the league's best rushers since the Cincinnati Bengals drafted him in the second round in the 2017 NFL Draft. In 2020, he signed a four-year, $48 million extension, per Spotrac. 

Fast forward to today, and it seems Mixon is in danger of becoming a salary cap casualty. The 26-year-old running back is due to count $12,761,754 against the salary cap with a dead cap hit of $5.5 million, per Spotrac. 

Why would the Bengals cut bait on a young, talented runner in the prime of his career? Cincinnati has $35,553,058 in cap space (per Spotrac), so what gives? For one, Mixon picked a bad time to have a mediocre season. 

In 2022, he rushed 210 times for 814 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns and added 441 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Those are decent numbers on the surface, but five of his nine TDs came in a Week 9 win over the Panthers. 

Mixon missed three games down the stretch due to injury. Teams reevaluate running backs seemingly every offseason, asking themselves, "What have you done for me lately?" 

Off the field, Mixon faced a misdemeanor menacing charge in January for allegedly pointing a gun at a woman. The charge was dropped in early February, but it could be refiled, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

At his Tuesday news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine, Bengals GM Duke Tobin didn't offer a wholehearted endorsement of Mixon returning in 2023.

"Joe has been a vital part of our team," he said. "Again, I'm not gonna predict the offseason because I don't have the answers. In the words of the great Kevin Malone (a character from "The Office"), 'I don't know.'" 

Continued Tobin: "We'll all see as the offseason goes what we're able to get done and how the resources are spread around, but Joe's been a vital part of our team, a successful part, a contributing part. And my job is to try to keep as many of those pieces around as we can."

Tobin's stance on Mixon differs significantly from his stance on WR Tee Higgins, a potential trade candidate this offseason. 

"I'm in the business of making the Cincinnati Bengals better, and so trading Tee Higgins is not on my mind," he said.

The Bengals have the sixth-most cap space in the league this offseason (per Spotrac), so keeping Mixon at his $12 million price tag shouldn't be an issue. But that number fails to account for QB Joe Burrow's forthcoming contract extension, which could be $50 million annually. 

The Bengals established themselves as contenders while Burrow played on his rookie contract, but the time has come for the team to pay the piper. 

The Chiefs traded WR Tyreek Hill last offseason to Miami to stay under the salary cap. That's the price of doing business in the league, particularly after acquiring a franchise quarterback. 

This means that a player such as Mixon, a solid rusher who's coming off a down year due to injury, could be viewed as expendable.