Time in the NFL offseason isn't a flat circle. It flows just like all of time does, with things occurring in linear order. Just because something hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't happen at all.

In the case of Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, something was going to happen. Rumors of a straight-up release leading up to free agency had weight before Samaje Perine left for a different opportunity. The player Mixon was in 2022 wasn't good enough to justify how much he was costing the Bengals from a cap (or cash) perspective going forward with massive financial commitments on the horizon, especially as a soon-to-be 27-year old running back with an on-going legal situation.

But the Bengals didn't make an effort to replace him in free agency or the NFL Draft, leaving one clear path forward to achieve both of their goals. That happened Friday night as Mixon signed up for a new contract.  

Initial reports stated that Mixon agreed to "restructure" his contract, which had two years to go featuring just over $20 million in cash remaining. When looking at it from an accounting perspective, his remaining cap hits were $12.8 million in 2023, and $13.1 million in 2024 due to the proration of his signing bonus he received upon signing the contract back in 2020.

A true restructure would entail Mixon's 2023 cap hit decreasing, while keeping his future earnings the same. If one cap hit goes down, the other has to go up, meaning Mixon's 2024 cap hit would see a significant jump. This is not what the Bengals were wanting to do, and they didn't do it at all.

Pro Football Talk reported that Mixon's new deal will pay him $6 million, and he can earn up to $8 million with incentives. Per Bengals insider Joe Goodberry, this deal is also just for one year.

Editor's note: Mixon's new deal was revealed to be a two-year pay cut, keeping him under contract through 2024.

In short, the Bengals terminated Mixon's original contract and he took a pay cut to stay with the team for one more season. That's still a much better result for him rather than trying his luck on the free agent market. Has anyone seen where Ezekiel Elliott or Dalvin Cook have ended up yet? 

Pay cut, or cut from the team, the clippers were coming for Mixon regardless. Calling it a "restructure" just makes it sound better from the player's side of things. Who do you think is feeding national insiders this information if not the agents themselves? 

This isn't even specifically a Mixon thing, it's a running back reality. Pretty much every major contract at the position either gets reworked, traded away, or terminated entirely before its conclusion. Lucrative contracts at the position don't yield positive return on investment in today's game.

But enough general philosophy; what does this mean for the Bengals? Only good things. 

Immediate cap and cash relief gives the Bengals needed breathing room to lock in extensions for Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Logan Wilson leading up to September. These deals will range from around $10 million per year, to potentially $55 million per year. Burrow and Higgins will both command serious cash payments up front, and their cap hits starting next year will see major increases. 

Mixon's pay cut on its own won't fund these investments, but continuing to pay him more than his worth to the team would not have been a wise allocation of resources. Every possible penny to make these upcoming deals happen is needed, and Mixon's willingness to sacrifice cash and future security is commendable. 

That he also gets to start for a contending team makes this the win-win Cincinnati has been waiting on.

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