Report: Joe Mixon finalizing four-year extension with Bengals

Joe Mixon finalizing a four year deal with the Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are in the process of finalizing a four-year, $48 million extension with running back Joe Mixon according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. 

The 24-year-old was entering the final year of his contract. The extension will keep him in Cincinnati through the 2024 season. 

The Bengals selected Mixon in the second-round (48th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He's ran for 2,931 yards over the past three years and topped the 1,100-yard rushing mark in each of the past two seasons. 

"Joe’s an important part of our team, a piece that we’d like to get extended and have around here a long time," Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said in July. "Joe’s been a great player for us. We want him around here. We know what he is. He came in and earned it. I think he came in under somewhat some tough circumstances and he’s showed everybody that he was the player and the person we believed he is and would become. He’s a guy that we’re proud of."

The $12 million per year average is similar to what the Titans gave Derrick Henry in July.

The Bengals are giving Mixon a $10 million signing bonus according to Rapoport. He'll make $1.3 million in base salary this season. 

His base salary will rise to $8 million in 2021-22, before jumping to $9.4 million in 2023. 

If Mixon plays at a high level, the Bengals could exercise a $9.6 million club option for the 2024 season. This is essentially a three-year extension with an option on the back end that protects the team. 

The Bengals plan on relying on Mixon even more this season, especially in the passing game.

"He’s an all-around, complete back," offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said during training camp. "He can do just about everything you need him to do. Finding ways to get him some touches in the pass game are some of the things we’ve looked at and studied ways to do it better than we did it last year."

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