Cincinnati Bengals Receive Praise For Zack Moss Signing, Joe Mixon Trade
The Bengals revamped their running back room earlier this month.
Cincinnati โ Zack Moss, an experienced running back, inked a two-year, $8 million contract with the Bengals earlier this month. Joe Mixon was also traded by them for a seventh-round selection.
Cincinnati was commended by ESPN’s Seth Walder for remodeling their running back room.
“From Cincinnati’s perspective, I’m good with their running back changeup,” Walder stated. “Zack Moss, a younger player, was acquired for less money. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Moss ran 0.7 run yards over expectation in 2023 compared to Mixon’s 0.0, making him more efficient than Mixon overall.
Moss and Chase Brown will collaborate in the Bengals’ backfield. Trayveon Williams was also re-signed, and they may select a different running back in the 2024 NFL Draft.
It was originally reported on Monday night that Mixon was being released prior to Tuesday’s trade announcement.
Mixon, who will be 28 at the start of the upcoming NFL season, is under contract through 2024. Last season, he ran for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns on 4.0 yards per carry. Mixon also registered 376 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.
The soon-to-be eighth-year running back spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Bengals, whom he logged four 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons with.
Mixon presumably replaces running back Devin Singletary for the Texans, as the latter ran for a team-high 898 yards and four touchdowns last season and reportedly signed a three-year deal with the New York Giants on Monday. Houston averaged 96.9 rushing yards per game in the regular season, good for 12th in the NFL.
Mixon forms a one-two running punch in Houston with Dameon Pierce, who ran for 939 yards in 13 games in his 2022 rookie campaign. The Texans are coming off a 10-7 season that saw them win the AFC South for the first time since 2019 and reach the AFC Wild Card round with quarterback C.J. Stroud leading the way and later claiming 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Meanwhile, the Bengals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with star quarterback Joe Burrow suffering a season-ending wrist injury in November.