Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon has commented on his re-worked deal with the team a few times now and the central topic always remains the same — staying with the team for his entire career while winning a Super Bowl.
Mixon again touched on these themes this week during a longer-form interview at training camp with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
The star running back cited the city itself and specifically Bengals president Mike Brown as big reasons he was willing to re-do the deal and wants to be one of those players who sticks with the same team for his entire career.
“One, it fits me. I love the community here I’ve been here since I was 20 years old,” Mixon said. “The city has embraced me. My teammates do the same. Same with ownership. If there’s a place where I would want to stay for my whole career, it’s here. All I’m trying to do is be the best investment for him in return and do whatever I can to be there and get his first Super Bowl.”
Mixon also explained why he was willing to cut down on money if it meant helping the team: “I see the bigger picture. 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.”
It goes without saying, but the suppressed running back market encouraged the re-worked deal too. Mixon gets to stay with the team and the Bengals get more wiggle room on the salary cap as they look to extend others such as Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins.
But even understanding this, Mixon also made it clear that he appreciates the way the re-worked deal gives him a chance to earn some of the cash back through incentives.
For Bengals fans, seeing one of the original rebuild guys — alongside Tyler Boyd — still buying into the program and doing whatever it takes to stick has to be a highlight.
