Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon agreed to a four-year contract extension, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the deal is worth $48 million for Mixon, who was due to hit free agency in 2021.
Mixon has missed practice recently due to migraines, however he was all smiles on Tuesday in a picture he posted on Twitter.
Mixon, who was slated to make $1.2 million in base salary in 2020, is coming off back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons. He was a workhorse the second half of the 2019 campaign with 194 carries over the final nine games.
Mixon, 24, expressed interest in having the Bengals begin talks on a contract extension at the end of last season, with team director of player personnel Duke Tobin addressing the matter in May on 700 WLW.
“Joe’s obviously a guy that’s shown a lot of ability,” Tobin said.
“He’s in a year that he can be extended, and he is a guy that we visited with. We’ll go through those discussions and see if there is a fit or a match for a long-term contract with him, obviously a guy we value quite a bit. The great thing about Joe is he goes about it the right way. … He’s the type of guy you want to lock up to a long-term deal. We’ll see if we can find the commonality to get that done over time here.”
Mixon has rushed for 2,931 yards and 17 touchdowns and added 108 receptions for 870 yards and four scores in 44 career games with the Bengals.
Mixon dropped in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma because of an incident caught on video in which he was shown punching a female student. He was still selected in the second round of the draft.
