Running back Joe Mixon has not played a single game for the Houston Texans in 2025 after suffering an offseason injury. He started the year on the team’s Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, sidelining him for at least four weeks.
With Week 5 now passed and Mixon still out, concerns are mounting, and the team’s latest update on the running back has only added to the uncertainty.
What Did the Texans Say About Joe Mixon’s Injury Status?
The whole situation surrounding Mixon’s injury has been bizarre. The star running back was expected to be a massive contributor to the Texans’ offense this season. However, he suffered an unspecified lower leg injury in the offseason, keeping him out of training camp.
Initially, it was expected that he would be ready for the season, but Houston kept him on the NFI list to start the year, ruling him out for at least the first four weeks.
Little information about Mixon’s status has been provided as the season has progressed. After missing Houston’s Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens, speculation has grown about just how serious the injury really is.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio provided an update on Tuesday that initially sounded like good news. Caserio said Mixon is progressing and the team expects more information in the next three to four weeks.
#Texans GM Nick Caserio on Joe Mixon status still in limbo for ‘duration of season’ didn’t say if he will return or not @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/e9CA1JA88L
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 7, 2025
“He’s making progress, so I wouldn’t put a particular timetable on it,” Caserio said. “I think over the next three, four weeks, we’ll probably get a little more information here, kind of see how he’s progressing. You know, take it one day at a time.”
While his initial update didn’t sound too concerning, Caserio went on to explain that after those first three to four weeks, the team will have a better understanding of whether Mixon will play at all in 2025.
MORE READING: Joe Mixon Injury Update — Will Fantasy Managers Get the Texans RB Back This Season?
“But I think once we kind of get to that period, we’ll probably have a better sense of you know which way it’s going to go, you know, for the duration of the year,” Caserio added.
That news is concerning, to say the least. There’s a real possibility Mixon could miss the entire 2025 season, and the most frustrating part is that there’s still no clear explanation for why he’s out.
Houston’s offense has struggled without him, ranking 19th in the league according to PFSN’s OFFi metric. Their two starting running backs haven’t been able to pick up the slack, with Nick Chubb ranking 30th and Woody Marks 38th among running backs in PFSN’s RBi metric.
The hope was that Mixon could return at some point and give the Texans’ rushing attack a spark, but given Caserio’s update, it now seems possible he won’t play at all this season.