The Bengals have a decision to make regarding Joe Mixon's future on the roster and they don't have much time to make it with the running back due a $3 million roster bonus March 18.
Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin praised Mixon on the podium Tuesday.
"I can tell you his role this past year was good," Tobin said when asked about his role moving forward. "He had a really good season for us. I was proud of him, over 1,000 yards, double-digit touchdowns, and was a big factor for us. In terms of predicting anybody's role going forward, I'm not going to do that up here on the podium. Those are roster-building strategies and those are things that we're talking through as this whole thing unfolds with every player on our roster. It's not specific to just one. Really proud of Joe and the season he had he did a lot of things to help us get to a point where we had a chance and we didn't get over the hump but he put us in a position to have a chance."
The numbers say Mixon is overpaid and that Cincinnati could get similar or even better production if they just ripped the band-aid off during an aging player window for once and moved on to save enough money for another starter elsewhere.
Tobin is well aware of the bonus.
"It doesn't complicate it," Tobin said about the roster bonus being an issue for the offseason. "We put it in there for a reason. And his agent wanted it in there for a reason. From our strategy standpoint and what we intend to do, I'm not going to get into that with any of our players."
More must-reads: