Bengals Executive on Joe Mixon: ‘Right Now, He’s on the Team’

The running back has two years remaining on his contract.

Despite the fact that most of free agency has come and gone, running back Joe Mixon’s status with the Bengals appears to be up in the air. The veteran has a cap hit over $12 million this year and is coming off a sub 1,000-yard rushing season.

Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn addressed Mixon at the NFL owners meetings, and while she praised his production, she didn’t appear to commit to the running back long-term.

“Right now, he’s on the team and we are gonna count on him until that wouldn’t be the case,” she said. “He’s done a lot of great things for the team, I think he still has a lot of production in him.”

Besides the on-field production questions, Mixons is dealing with some off-field issues as well. Police investigated a shooting at Mixon’s house on March 7, although they do not consider Mixon a suspect in the investigation.

According to the police report, a child was shot in the backyard of a neighboring house to Mixon’s, when children were playing a game called “dart wars” involving toy guns and foam bullets. The police have not filed charges yet.

Blackburn briefly mentioned Mixon’s off-field situation in the interview.

“I hope his other issues all get resolved in a positive way,” she said.

While Mixon remains on the team, his backup last year, Samaje Perine, signed with the Broncos in the offseason.