Bengals' Joe Mixon 2023 NFL season props, odds: Suspension unlikely for Cincinnati running back after found not guilty of menacing charge

A four-day trial in Cincinnati on Thursday ended with a judge finding Bengals running back Joe Mixon not guilty of aggravated menacing from an incident that took place on Jan. 21. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones followed that news with a tweet that Mixon will return to practice and that there will likely be no punishment from the NFL. Let's break down some available season props at DraftKings for the one-time Pro Bowler and frequent Fantasy superstar.

Mixon has been the team's starter since he was taken as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in the 2017 draft, and has posted three 1,000-yard seasons. His best campaign was easily his 2021 Pro Bowl season in which he rushed for 1,205 yards and 13 scores. Mixon was limited to 14 games last year and rushed for 814 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 60 passes for 441 yards and two TDs.

This week has made it quite clear that NFL teams don't value running backs that highly, and the Bengals were rumored all offseason to intend to release Mixon if he didn't take a pay cut – mainly for financial reasons, but team executive vice president Katie Blackburn did mention the off-field issues in March when talking to reporters. 

Cincinnati would have saved about $10 million against the cap if he was released. The team still has to extend Joe Burrow and potentially Tee Higgins, among others. The 27-year-old Mixon was set to make $10.1 million, but in mid-July agreed to a $3 million cut.

"I see the bigger picture. I see the task at hand and what we're trying to build, and in order to keep other players here and pieces here, sometimes you have to sacrifice," Mixon said then. "I felt like this year was the year to sacrifice on the Super Bowl team we can potentially be."

Mixon did have to share some touches last year with Samaje Perine, who often replaced Mixon on third downs, but Perine left for Denver over the offseason, so Mixon could have a big year. The only backs behind him on the depth chart are Trayveon Williams (six carries in 2022), Chris Evans (zero) and fifth-round rookie Chase Brown out of Illinois.

Here are the available props at DraftKings for Mixon:

• To win NFL Offensive Player of the Year: +10000
• To lead NFL in rushing: +3500
• To lead NFL in rushing TDs: +2500
• Over/Under 825.5 rushing yards: Both -110
• Over/Under 7.5 rushing TDs: Under -130 favorite
• Mixon or Tee Higgins with at least 1250 yards from scrimmage: -135
• Mixon with at least one 150-yard rushing game: +150
• Mixon with at least five 100-yard games: +170
• Mixon with at least eight 100-yard games: +550

The former Oklahoma Sooner is one of 10 active backs with at least 5,000 yards rushing -- fifth in team history -- and has 14 career 100-yard games in the regular season (the Bengals are 9-5 in them).

His lone such game in 2022 was a 153-yard effort on Nov. 6 against Carolina. That was the game of his life, as Mixon set franchise single-game records for total TDs (five) and total points (30), while totaling career-high 211 yards from scrimmage (58 receiving). He added 105 yards on the ground in the Divisional Round upset win in Buffalo. His career high is 165 yards.

Cincinnati has never had a player lead the NFL in rushing. Rudi Johnson and Corey Dillon each had three huge seasons in the 2000s with the Bengals, but they never led the league. Johnson's 1,458 yards in 2005 are the team record. The team record for rushing TDs is 15 by Ickey Woods in 1988 (fell one short of rushing TD lead). The only Bengal to win that single-season title was Jeremy Hill in a four-way tie in 2015 with 11.

The Bengals are in Cleveland for Week 1. It's unclear if Burrow will be back from his calf strain by then. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Mixon for 11.8 carries, 51 yards and 0.39 TDs, along with 2.7 catches for 20 yards and 0.09 TDs.

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