Joe Mixon's debut with the Houston Texans couldn't have gone much better. The veteran back had 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, and it certainly sounds like he's fine with the fact that he's no longer a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mixon hasn't forgotten about the Bengals giving up on him
After Houston's 29-27 victory over the Colts, Mixon was asked if he wished that the Texans played the Bengals this season, and he used his answer as an opportunity to take a shot at his former franchise.
“No,” Mixon said. “I don’t, actually beause I just wanna leave them where they’re at, just like where they left me, man."
The Bengals were planning to release Mixon, who spent the first seven seasons of his career in Cincinnati, over the offseason, but they ended up trading him to Houston instead, despite the fact that he was coming off of a 1,000-yard season in Cincinnati. So far that decision doesn't look great, as Mixon more than doubled the output of Cincinnati's entire backfield in Week 1.
Given the way things transpired in Cincinnati, Mixon is elated to be a member of an upstart Texans team looking to build off of the success they established last season.
“I’m happy to be on my new team, man, embracing me,” Mixon said. “It feels great to be able to be a big part of what we do over here.”
During his tenure in Cincinnati, Mixon wrote his name all over the Bengals' history books. He presently stands as the team's third all-time leading rusher with 6,412 total rushing yards. Corey Dillon (8,061) and James Brooks (6,447) are the only players who have rushed for more yards in a Bengals uniform. Mixon is also second all-time in franchise history in rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns. He scored the 50th rushing touchdown of his career in his first game with the Texans in Week 1.
You can't blame Mixon for feeling a little salty about the Bengals organzation for cutting bait with him after all that he gave to the team for seven straight seasons. But, the best way for a player to get revenge on a team for giving up on him or trading him is to ball out on his new team, and that's exactly what Mixon did in Week 1.