While Joe Mixon's time with the Cincinnati Bengals is over, he has a different means of departure.
The Bengals will now trade Mixon to the Houston Texans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
It was reported on Monday that Cincinnati was planning to release Mixon after it agreed to terms with free-agent running back Zack Moss, but by Tuesday the Texans offered to trade for the 2021 Pro Bowler.
It has not yet been reported what Houston is sending to the Bengals to complete the trade, which won't become official until the new league year begins on Wednesday.
By trading Mixon, who had spent his first seven NFL seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals will save $6.1million on their salary cap.
A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Mixon is coming off a season in which he started 17 games, rushing for 1,034 yards with nine touchdowns and another 376 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions for his fourth season with at least 1,400 scrimmage yards.
Since his 2017 rookie season, Mixon and Christian McCaffrey are the only two players in the NFL with four seasons of at least 1,400 scrimmage yards.
Mixon had career highs of 1,205 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in 2021 for a Cincinnati team that reached the Super Bowl.
In 97 career games, he has 6,412 rushing yards, 2,139 receiving yards and 62 total TDs.
He now joins a Texans team that ranked 22nd in the NFL in rushing in 2023, averaging 96.9 yards per game on the ground.