News
4/7/23
3 min read
Report: Aggravated Menacing Charges Refiled Against Bengals' Joe Mixon
Cincinnati Police resubmitted charges for aggravating menacing against Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon on Friday, The Enquirer reported. The charges stem from a Jan. 21 incident where Mixon allegedly pointed a gun at women just before the Bengals traveled to play the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.
The original charges were dismissed just 24 hours after they were filed. However, authorities stated they would reopen the case if they gathered new evidence.
"This decision was reached following the discovery of new evidence during the investigative process," the Cincinnati Police Department said in a statement Friday. "To preserve a fair and impartial judicial process for all parties involved, no investigatory details or evidence will be disclosed outside of official court proceedings."
The Bengals released a brief statement on Friday saying: "The Club is aware misdemeanor charges have been raised against Joe Mixon. The Club is monitoring the situation and will not comment further at this time."
In Ohio, a person is guilty of aggravated menacing if they “knowingly cause(s) another to believe the offender will cause serious physical harm to the person or property of the other person, the other person’s unborn, or a member of the other person’s immediate family,” according to the state’s laws.
This is the second off-field incident involving Mixon this offseason. A teenager playing with toy guns was shot by an individual standing in Mixon's backyard on March 6. Lamonte Brewer, Mixon's sister's boyfriend, was indicted for one count of felonious assault. Mixon, who owns his gun legally, was seen on camera during the incident with his gun, but he did not fire any shots.
There have been reports the Bengals would release Mixon for much of the offseason. During an interview at the NFL owners' meetings last week, Katie Blackburn, the Bengals' executive vice president, didn't make it seem the team was committed to Mixon.
"You're laying out all the arguments and thoughts you can certainly weigh," Blackburn said. "You never know where things can go. But right now, he's there, and we're gonna plan like that until something different would happen for whatever reason. Like I said, I don't want to say anything's happening because that's not fair. But you point out some things that at some point you might have to look at, maybe.
"But as I said, I don't want to send any message one way or another because I don't think that would be fair. Right now, he's our starting guy. You've seen other teams have to make moves. Could we get to that point? Maybe. But it would be down the road here, and we'd have to see if that's what makes sense or not."
Designating Mixon as a post-June 1 cut would save Cincinnati roughly $10.1 million against the cap, avoiding his 2023 cap hit of $12.7 million. The Bengals could use the cap space with contract extensions for Ja'Marr Chase, Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins on the horizon.
The former second-round pick out of Oklahoma finished last season with 814 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Mixon has finished with more than 1,000 yards three times and was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2021.
