The Bengals have cleared RB Chase Brown to practice by designating him for return from IR.

They also signed QB Drew Plitt to the practice squad and placed OL Jaxson Kirkland on the Practice Squad Injured list.

Related players: Joe Mixon, Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans, Chase Brown

While normally this may not be all that important of a story in terms of fantasy, the Bengals sit at 5-5 and just lost franchise QB Joe Burrow for the remainder of the season. It's possible the Bengals see what they have in some of their younger players, and this could be especially be true at the RB position where the team has some youth behind Mixon - who is 27 but getting up there in age in terms of RBs. Brown may be worth a stash in deeper leagues.

Joe Mixon’s aggravated menacing case came back not guilty and the Bengals declared they are “pleased that this matter is now behind everyone.” The path now clears for his role as the starter on early downs with rookie Chase Brown behind him. The story of the third-down job has been dominated by the rise of Chris Evans. He’s shown well in pass protection and improved running the ball downhill over last year’s disappointing preseason to become the frontrunner with Trayveon Williams (ankle) sidelined.

Williams seemed to be the favorite to land the passing down job but his injury has allowed Evans to thrive. The story added that outside of one big run, neither Evans or Brown were able to pick up much ground running the ball in the preseason so far. It seems like Brown will backup Mixon for early down work.

Bengals running back Joe Mixon was found not guilty of aggravated menacing and will return to practice. There will very likely be no punishment from the NFL.

Related Players: Trayveon Williams, Chase Brown, Chris Evans

It seems the most likely scenario is that no suspension will be handed down from the NFL. The Cincinnati backfield will be Mixon's for a mostly-workhorse role, with former sixth-round pick Trayveon Williams the mostly likely No. 2.

Bengals RB Trayveon Williams, who was carted off at practice after suffering an injury during ball security drills, is believed to have suffered a mild ankle sprain. He’ll likely miss a couple of weeks, assuming tests confirm the initial diagnosis.

Related Players: Chase Brown, Chris Evans

With Samaje Perine in Denver, it's worth keeping an eye on the Bengals' RB2 situation. Williams, Brown, and Evans were each taken in the fifth round or later in the '19, '21, and '23 drafts, so nobody has a leg-up here in terms of draft capital. Evans might get the biggest boost in playing time here, but that would likely only be for one or two preseason games.

The Bengals and RB Joe Mixon are finalizing a restructured contract that will keep him in Cincinnati for the 2023 season. Mixon was due $10.1 million this season with a $12.791M cap number. The new deal frees up cash and cap for Cincinnati, and Mixon stays as RB1.

Related Players: Trayveon Williams, Chase Brown, Chris Evans

Congratulations to those who stayed the course this offseason and selected Mixon when he dropped consistently into the sixth round in drafts. Mixon should be considered a high-upside RB2 for the 2023 season.

Zac Taylor and OC Brian Callahan repeatedly brought up Trayveon Williams when asked about Samaje Perine's replacement

Lines like "The more investment we've given him with playing time, the more he's paid off"

Related Players: Chris Evans

With the legal issues still hanging over Joe Nixon's head, this is incredibly important from a fantasy perspective. Perine had a large roll in the offense that increased even further in the NFL Playoffs. Williams is being drafted a huge 50 picks after Chase Brown in current Underdog drafts, and 16 picks after Chris Evans.

Even if wele don't boost Williams way up the rankings, we should be keeping our eye on this situation.