What It Means:

Mixon is due a little over $1.2 million as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. That's not nearly enough for a player who has cleared 1,100 rushing yards and 1,400 yards from scrimmage each of the past two seasons. The problem is Mixon has also racked up 280-plus touches in two straight years and high-volume running backs tend to have a limited shelf life. Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott are the only other two backs to top 275 touches in that stretch. Dehner says the Bengals "would like to do an extension," but the diminishing value of the position could limit Mixon's earning potential. Giovani Bernard stands to be the primary beneficiary from a potential holdout unless the Bengals draft a running back. Mixon had 100 rushing yards and/or a touchdown in six of the final eight games (102.1 rushing yards per game on 22.1 carries) after failing to do either over the first half of the season (40.0 rushing yards per game on 12.1 carries). He turns 24 in July.

Mixon averaged 13.0 FanDuel points (RB18 among backs with more than one appearance) and 89.0 yards from scrimmage per game with 8 touchdowns last season. Per Rotounderworld, he led the league with 103 evaded tackles and created the third-most yards per carry (1.84). Mixon ranked 18th in numberFire's advanced per-carry rushing metric out of 45 backs with at least 100 carries.