Lions GM Bob Quinn: 'Really disappointing' Joe Mixon isn't at combine

The door may be open for the Lions to evaluate Joe Mixon ahead of the NFL draft.

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn was disappointed to learn that former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon was not invited to the NFL combine but will leave a door open for the Lions to evaluate him, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.

"We're going to leave the door open on Joe. I think it's really disappointing that Joe's not here," Quinn said. "We come here to see the best college football players in college football. So there's 330, 340-some odd players here. Him not being here, because of those issues, personally I don't think that's real fair because we have a lot of investigation that we want to do on him and to get him in one spot for all the teams would have been great.”

Mixon has been in the news for his off-field issues, which include the release of surveillance footage that showed him punching a female Oklahoma student in the face in 2014.

Quinn says the Lions would have long discussions before determining whether or not to draft Mixon.

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Earlier in the week, Mixon said that he made a bad decision when he punched the woman. He was suspended for the entire 2014 season and apologized shortly after the release of the video.

“I made a bad decision,” Mixon said to Pro Football Talk. “Ever since that night I have to live with it. I’ve got to re-live it every day. You can never forget something like that. It still haunts me to this day, but it’s what you do from that point on. You can’t take it back. I can replay it in my head a thousand times, and if I could take it back I would, but I can’t.”

Mixon led Oklahoma in rushing with 1,274 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 2016. He also caught 37 passes for 538 yards with another five scores. The victim, Amelia Molitor, sued Mixon in civil court for negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but a majority of the lawsuit was thrown out by a judge.