Joe Mixon Discusses Accepting Pay Cut Ahead of 2023 Season: 'I See The Bigger Picture'

Mixon is now the 13th-highest-paid NFL running back by AAV.

CINCINNATI — Joe Mixon is pursuing a spot at the top of the Bengals rushing record books. 

The 27-year-old declined to discuss his offseason with local media, but he did chat with Bengals senior writer Geoff Hobson.

Mixon talked about his goals and explained why he took a pay cut to stay in Cincinnati. 

"I see the bigger picture," Mixon told Hobson. "I see the task at hand and what we're trying to build and in order to keep other players here and pieces here, sometimes you have to sacrifice. I felt like this year was the year to sacrifice on the Super Bowl team we can potentially be. That was my stance on it. We agreed on a number with great compensation this year with the incentives. Off my last deal, I feel like they allowed me to work to be able to make that money back. That's cool. I'll go work for it."

Mixon is coming off his least efficient campaign long NFL campaign since debuting in the league but is now the 13th-highest-paid running back in the NFL by average annual value. He scored five of his seven rushing touchdowns in one game last season and lacked a lot of wiggle for missed tackles.

The Bengals' top back forced 0.11 missed tackles per rushing attempt in 2022 (72nd out of 87 running backs with at least 25 rushing attempts). He also averaged 3.9 yards per carry (65th), and he posted 16 explosive rushes on 210 attempts.

Still, 60 catches on 70 targets with just 4 drops helped him make a difference against coverage shells aimed at limiting the Bengals' deep passing attack.

Mixon's willingness to sacrifice for the team is another example of how he meshes well in the locker room. With the best projected offensive line of his career, Maybe he can return to 2021 form.

Check out Hobson's full article here.

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