Bengals RB Joe Mixon having knee surgery and out 2 weeks, per report

UPDATE

We’ve got a slightly positive update. While it looks like Joe Mixon will have the surgery, it’s not expected to keep him out long, according to Adam Schefter.

If it’s two weeks from Saturday, then he’ll obviously miss Week 3 at the Carolina Panthers, but there could be a small chance he plays at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.

In the meantime, Giovani Bernard is the man. He’s proven he can carry the workload before, though Mixon is who you want for the bulk of a season.

The Bengals may be without Joe Mixon when they face the Panthers in Week 3, and possibly beyond that.

Mixon suffered a knee injury early in Thursday’s win over the Ravens, which led to him going in and out of the game through the fourth quarter. Turns out, Mixon may need a surgical procedure to repair the damage that was done, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network:

Any kind of surgery on the knee usually leads to a multi-week absence, so this is really bad news for the Bengals if he does need the procedure. It’s also going to look really bad on the medical staff if they allowed Mixon to re-enter the game and cause further damage to the knee.

Then again, the Bengals’ medical personnel are no strangers to controversy and mismanaging injured players, so this wouldn’t be a real surprise.

Regardless, it’s a big story to monitor going forward. And for now, Giovani Bernard looks like the Bengals’ top running back.