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As the Bengals and Joe Mixon continue to work on a contract extension, the veteran running back has been sidelined for the last week with migraines.
Mixon didn’t suit up for Sunday’s team scrimmage, though he was on the sideline cheering on his teammates and appeared to be fine. After the scrimmage, head coach Zac Taylor gave a brief update on his star back.
“It’s good to see him around,” Taylor told Bengals.com. “He’s always got great energy. It reminds me of last training camp during the pre-season games when he wasn’t getting a lot of carries and he was right there next to me. But he’s always upbeat and he’s got great energy.”
In addition, FOX 19’s Jeremy Rauch reports that Mixon is expected to play in Week 1 when the Bengals host the Chargers to kick off the 2020 campaign.
Source says the plan for Joe Mixon is to play in the season opener two weeks from today.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) August 30, 2020
Mixon hasn't practiced this week. #Bengals @fox19 pic.twitter.com/JibvNRDnkl
The Bengals are relying heavily on Mixon to lead their backfield this season, and it would be a huge downgrade to go from him to Giovani Bernard, Samaje Perine and/or Trayveon Williams.
Even with the Bengals’ offense adding No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, second-round receiver Tee Higgins, and a healthy A.J. Green, Mixon is still expected to be a workhorse back in this offense, which should help ease Burrow’s transition into the pros.
Hopefully, Mixon is back on the field this week and hammers out a contract extension with the Bengals soon thereafter. Even in a devaluing running back market, Mixon is still a very important piece to this franchise and deserves to be one of the highest-paid backs in football.