Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon has had some interesting comments about his former team since being traded to the Houston Texans last offseason.
Mixon’s latest once again straddled the line between appreciating his time with the Bengals and criticizing elements around the team, from local media to coaches.
Speaking with Josina Anderson before Week 12, Mixon tackled everything from past misuse on the field and more.
“I appreciate my time there. I had a hell of a seven years,” Mixon said. “When it came down to it, it was an unfortunate situation where things changed a little bit and obviously they had them fake a** beat writers, reporters out there. I don’t care, I’m not there any more… When it come down to it, my teammates know what it is.”
Mixon continued: “One thing that I can appreciate here [in Houston] is they utilize my skillset. I’ve always been a threat in the passing game and one thing about here, they give me my screens. They give me my choices, they give me flat routes that I can take. They give me all types of combinations. They utilize me.”
Mixon has enjoyed a fantastic season with the Texans, gaining 786 yards and scoring 10 times on a 4.6 per-carry average. He’s also been targeted 34 times through the air.
That said, Mixon was the unquestioned workhorse for the Bengals, last year alone carrying it 257 times with 64 targets through the air. He had minimums of 210 carries and 48 targets in each of his last three seasons in Cincinnati.
It speaks to how the Bengals felt about Mixon that they shipped him to a strong fit for his skillset with another AFC contender when deciding to change things up.
While the 2024 Bengals are obviously very far from perfect, they’ve enjoyed seeing the idea that Chase Brown is a better fit for the offense they want to run via the sophomore breakout’s 607 yards and five scores on a 4.3 average, plus his 35 catches and two scores through the air.
