In a shocking move late Monday night, the Bengals released Joe Mixon and will replace him with free agent Zack Moss, who will sign a two-year, $8 million contract. It's a new era for Cincinnati's backfield. Mixon, 27, has played his entire seven-year career with the Bengals since being selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He averaged at least 13.4 PPR points per game in six of those seasons, including three years in which he averaged at least 16.2 PPR points.
He averaged 14.7 PPR points per game in 2023 with 257 carries for 1,034 yards, nine touchdowns, and 52 catches for 376 yards and three scores on 64 targets. The decision to let Mixon go was probably more about money than his performance.
Mixon was scheduled to play this season in the second year of a restructured contract worth a total of $11.5 million. By releasing him, the Bengals would save $6.1 million against the 2024 salary cap.
We'll see how Mixon ends up, but with the right team he could remain the No. 2 fantasy running back in most leagues. He is currently on the open market and could choose where he plays in 2024.
The Bengals will go with a tandem of Moss and Chase Brown, with Moss expected to be the lead running back. He just broke out in 2023 as a replacement for Jonathan Taylor with the Colts.
This season, Moss had 183 carries for 794 yards and five touchdowns, and 27 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 37 targets. All of his stats were career highs except for receiving yards.
With Taylor sidelined in last year's season opener, Moss scored at least 17 PPR points in four of the first five games. He totaled at least 18 touches in four of those games, proving he can be a mainstay, and the Bengals hope he can do that in a full season in 2024.
Fantasy managers should view Moss as the No. 2 running back in all of the league, and he's worth drafting as early as Round 6. He hopes Moss' performance last year wasn't a fluke, but keep in mind that he never really excelled when given the chance. The first two years of his career started in Buffalo.
And I expect Cincinnati to give Brown plenty of touches each week as well. He started playing more with the Bengals later this year, finishing his rookie season with 44 carries for 179 yards, 14 catches for 156 yards, and 15 touchdowns.
I plan on drafting Brown as a late pick in all leagues, but he'll be someone I think of as a sleeper as Cincinnati's No. 2 running back. If Moss struggles or misses time due to injury, Brown could be this year's lottery pick.
