Biggest Injury Risks for Cincinnati Bengals – No. 3: Joe Mixon
When it comes to these types of lists, the running back is probably going to be included no matter what simply because of the nature of the position. A running back’s job is to run with the ball and a defender’s job is to stop the guy holding the ball no matter what, which sometimes leads to some incredibly painful hits for the running back.
Taking hit after hit takes a toll on any player and that’s why Joe Mixon is included on this list. Even with his position being one that comes with a higher risk of injury, Mixon has stayed mostly healthy for the most part. He only appeared in six games last year but was on pace for another prolific season.
Mixon has missed 14 games throughout the course of his NFL career but to be fair, 10 of those came last year with the foot injury he sustained a season ago. Healthy feet are obviously pretty important for a running back (or anyone who plays sports) and if Mixon’s foot isn’t 100%, he won’t be the same guy he once was for the Bengals.
Mixon is an obvious injury risk for the Bengals due to his position and how violent it is. If he does miss time, the Bengals have Samaje Perine as his backup and he faired nicely in 2020 when Mixon did miss time.
Let’s hope we don’t have to see Perine much though because Mixon is far and away the better running back between the two.