4 things the Bengals hopefully learned from Super Bowl LVII

Expensive running backs aren't a good idea

The Bengals signed Joe Mixon to a four-year extension worth $48 million and that contract doesn't end for another two seasons. At the time, extending Mixon made sense as he was one of the few bright spots on the team but that isn't the case anymore.

Not only was Mixon not his usual productive self in 2022, but he's expensive and rolling with expensive running backs on the roster is not the way to go. Just look at this tweet from Marcus Mosher to help further prove my point.

The Chiefs won the Super Bowl with a seventh-round pick as their leading rusher. Good running backs can be found late in the draft or even as undrafted free agents. It's not a position that teams need to be spend a gawdy amount of money on anymore unless maybe you have Christian McCaffrey on your team.

If Mixon was coming off another 1,500+ scrimmage yard season, this conversation might be different but that's not the situation. Considering that the team can save $10 million by cutting him after June 1, keeping him around doesn't make sense anymore. Do the smart thing here, Bengals.