Bengals to Release Joe Mixon, Signing Zack Moss

The Cincinnati Bengals are cutting running back Joe Mixon and signing free agent Zack Moss to shakeup their running back room. Moss will sign a two-year, $8 million deal and pair with second-year running back Chase Brown as a solid one-two duo for the Bengals offense.

This is the end of Mixon’s time with the team. Still just 27, Mixon was drafted out of Oklahoma in the 2017 NFL Draft. He enjoyed multiple positive seasons with the team, but the more carries he received over time, the less efficient he became in the backfield. Now, they will sever ties and bring in Moss, who had a breakout 2023 season with Jonathan Taylor in and out of the lineup for much of the season.

Before the 2023 season, Mixon took a paycut to remain with the Bengals. Mike Florio reported that Mixon took a pay cut to where he can only earn as much as $8 million and the base pay was knocked all the way down to under $6 million. Mixon was one of the running backs to feel the rigors of the running back market, which seems to be getting smaller and smaller this offseason as teams look to avoid big contracts as the position. But multiple teams have signed running backs for significant money this offseason.