Charges against Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon were dropped at the request of the city prosecutor’s office. However, that doesn’t mean the star is completely in the clear. Charges could still be refiled at a later date.
Joe Mixon via Cincinnati Bengals YouTube
Mixon was originally facing a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing, according to court documents, which were filed Thursday in Hamilton County Municipal Court and obtained by The Associated Press. No attorney is listed for him in court records.
However, the change in the case came on Friday, when prosecutors made their motion.
“We need additional investigation before we would move forward with this case,” the city prosecutor’s office said when asking the judge to dismiss the charges.
Mixon has been associated with off-the-field incidents in the past, going back to his time as an Oklahoma Sooner. In 2014, he punched a female Oklahoma student in the face, an attack captured on surveillance video.
He was suspended from the football team for a year and entered an Alford plea. That means that Mixon did not admit guilt but acknowledges there’s evidence for a conviction. In that case, he received a deferred sentence, was ordered to perform community service, and had to undergo counseling. The incident also caused him to fall in the NFL Draft, dropping from a sure first-round selection into the second. The Bengals ended up taking him 48th overall.
Joe Mixon via Cincinnati Bengals YouTube
For a team with a tumultuous past, this is not the type of news that the organization is happy to hear about. The Bengals have had multiple players over the years who have had run-ins with the law. At the same time, they were traditionally considered one of the worst franchises in all of the sporting world. They averaged only 6.9 wins per season from 2000-2009, despite winning two division titles in that span.
Things have vastly improved with quarterback Joe Burrow at the helm, as the team advanced all the way to the Super Bowl last year. But they wouldn’t have made it there without their venerable running back.
Joe Mixon via Cincinnati Bengals YouTube
Joe Mixon ran for 814 yards and seven touchdowns and added 60 receptions for 441 yards in 2022.
He also threw in a couple of touchdown catches for good measure. Spending the majority of his career as the Bengal’s primary ball carrier, he has amassed 5,378 yards and 40 TDs in his six-year career in Cincinnati.
Mixon and the Bengals will look to retain their status as AFC North Champions and return to the playoffs. They were defeated in the Conference title game by Kansas City, 23-20.
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