The Cincinnati Bengals have been building a young and exciting offense for the last few years. This offseason, they made possibly the finishing touches when they drafted quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick (and wide receiver Tee Higgins in the second round).

Now, they are already taking steps to make sure the main pieces stay in place for a long time.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Twitter, they have reached an agreement with running back Joe Mixon on a new contract.

A four-year deal worth $48-million is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Joe Mixon is definitely getting a nice chunk of change in this deal.

However, that does not mean it isn't a great signing by the Bengals. The running back is now under contract for the next five years. And based on his past, he's going to play a major role in their offense during that time.

Mixon ran for 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns in 2018, his breakout season. Last year, he followed that up with slightly worse numbers (1,137 yards and five touchdowns). However, he was the main focus of the offense.

Cincinnati had very little going for them offensively. So it was easy for defenses to zero in on the running back and focus all their efforts on stopping him. Even when they did that, Mixon usually managed to do some damage though.

He should be a perfect running back to take pressure off of the rookie quarterback and young receivers. Meanwhile, the upgrade in the passing game should help Joe Mixon put up even bigger numbers. It's a perfect marriage.

The Bengals now have their franchise running back locked up. It's hard to imagine he is going to disappoint them.

This could end up being one of the more exciting offenses to watch over the next few years. Now we know that Joe Mixon will be a major part of that for the long haul.