The Cincinnati Bengals will move on from Joe Mixon, but the method has changed.
After planning to release Mixon on Monday, the Bengals switched gears. They will instead trade him to the Houston Texans, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday, per sources informed of the deal.
Terms of the trade have not yet been reported.
After agreeing to terms with free-agent running back Zack Moss on Monday, Cincinnati had planned to release Mixon, who took a pay cut last offseason to remain with the Bengals. It seemed fait accompli sides would part this year. Trading Mixon, who had a salary cap figure of $8.85 million, saves Cincy $6.1 million on the cap with $2.75 million in dead money.
The Texans, who'd reportedly been in on the Saquon Barkley sweepstakes, had a need at running back after Devin Singletary agreed to terms with the New York Giants. After wading through the early run on RBs, Houston made a sensible move for Mixon, who has one year left on his deal and is set to cost the Texans around $5.75 million.
Mixon's physical style fits the Texans well, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik should be able to milk at least one more positive season out of the back. However, the 27 year old did appear to have lost a step last season, lacking explosive plays and breaking fewer tackles than in previous seasons. Still, Mixon should help keep the Texans in positive down and distances, something they struggled with early last season before Singletary came on strong.
While he does have some pass-catching ability, he was never a volume receiver during his seven seasons in Cincinnati. Unless the Texans see untapped potential from Mixon in that area, a low-cost third-down receiving back remains a need.
