In life, the element of surprise can come from many different directions. Let’s shift to the Midwest, particularly in the state of Ohio where the Cincinnati Bengals made a bold move a few days back in terms of trading away their star RB Joe Mixon. Mixon is headed to Houston to play with CJ Stroud under the guidance of DeMeco Ryans.
The Texans clearly got a bargain out of this deal, only giving up a conditional 7th round draft choice to the Bengals. Provided he stays healthy, Mixon and the Texans came out of this deal on top. Houston is giving Joe a three-year contract worth $27 million, with $13 million in guarantees.
Mixon for the most part has been a durable and steady running back while he played in Cincy. During his seven-year career, he’s rushed for 6,412 yards, 49 TD’s, and is averaging 4.1 yards per carry. He’s only 28 years old, and despite the running back market as of late being very underappreciated, it’s great to see Mixon get the bag.
This move will greatly impact the Bengals on offense, as it will be hard to replace the work horseman like effort that Mixon provided in that Bengals backfield. It seems that Cincy is seeking to stay under the cap in addition to getting a younger back, as they will probably look in the draft to acquire a younger player.
While the Bengals (apart from Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase) seem to be aging quickly, the Texans are one of the youngest teams in the league with a lot of momentum. The AFC South just got a little more interesting in terms of what the Texans can potentially achieve.