A lingering foot injury sidelines Texans running back Joe Mixon for the season. The team faces a new backfield strategy as his return remains uncertain.
The Houston Texans didn’t receive great news about the depth in their running back room ahead of their Thursday night matchup against the Buffalo Bills, with ESPN reporting that Texans’ running back Joe Mixon is expected to remain out for the duration of this season due to a foot injury.
Mixon was placed on the non-football injury list at the end of training camp, after missing all of Houston’s offseason workouts and training camp with the injury, and it appears the Texans won’t see him play this year as a result. That was in addition to not practicing during OTAs and minicamp, with his last participation in a game or practice seen by media being the team’s 2024 divisional round playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in January.
Here is the full story from Texans Roundtable writer Clayton Anderson on Mixon’s prognosis and what the team’s next moves are.
Breaking: Texans Running Back Joe Mixon Officially Out for Season
Mystery foot injury sidelines Joe Mixon for the Texans' 2025 season. His absence casts doubt on his future with the team.
It’s been a bit of a mysterious foot injury, not knowing what caused it, and it now keeping Mixon out of the entire offseason and 2025 regular season. There was some optimism Mixon might be able to return this year, but per ESPN, the foot injury “never healed.”
It’s disappointing to not see Mixon in his second season with Houston after rushing for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first year, earning Pro-Bowl honors, after being acquired from the Cincinnati Bengals in March of 2024.
The team will now move forward with free agent running back Nick Chubb and rookie rusher Woody Marks from the USC Trojans this season at least. But does this spell the end of Mixon’s long-term career in Houston? He’s only under contract until 2026, and this is his 10th year in the league.