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Cincinnati Bengals second-year running back Joe Mixon is set to miss the next few weeks of the season due to surgery to repair a slight meniscus tear that had occurred against the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday night.
According to Katherine Terrell of ESPN, Mixon has voiced that he is beginning to feel better after the operation more than he did following the Week 2 game.
Joe Mixon said he had a sight meniscus tear. He said he feels really great, better than he did after the game.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) September 19, 2018
Mixon had been off to a strong start to the 2018 season with 179 rushing yards on 38 carries and a touchdown along with six receptions for 57 receiving yards in the first two games played. His absence is a significant loss in the offense as he was emerging as a primary factor out of the backfield that had contributed greatly to the team's early-season success while cementing his status as the clear-cut starter.
His absence now puts veteran running back Giovani Bernard in the starting lineup as he is the backup to Mixon this season and had stepped into that role last year when the former Oklahoma product was dealing with injuries. Bernard picked up his play during that stretch over the last five games of the year as he tallied 337 rushing yards with two touchdowns along with 24 catches for 170 receiving yards. This includes toppling 100 rushing yards once while posting more than 100 yards from scrimmage twice. Bernard has proven that he can be a dual-threat factor that can be a suitable temporary fill-in asset in the offense while Mixon is on the mend.
There have been varying reports on the length of his recovery from the injury, but he is expected back at some point over the next couple of weeks. The Bengals will monitor the situation closely while avoiding rushing him to return to the field in order to avoid any setback from occurring that could keep him out longer.
