Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon entered the 2025 season on the back of a 1,000-yard campaign and was expected to once again be a central piece of the team’s offense. Instead, while the Texans have impressed and reached the postseason without him, Mixon has yet to appear in a single game all year.
Mixon reportedly suffered a foot injury during the offseason, but details surrounding the injury have remained scarce, leaving his status one of the league’s biggest unanswered questions.
Joe Mixon Injury Update
Neither the Texans nor Mixon has provided any clarity on how or when the injury occurred. CBS was the first outlet to report the foot issue, noting that it happened sometime during the offseason before Houston placed Mixon on the non-football injury (NFI) list.
General manager Nick Caserio acknowledged the injury in August but admitted there was “no crystal ball timeline” for Mixon’s return. What was initially expected to be a four-game absence has since turned into a season-long one, fueling speculation about Mixon’s long-term future in the NFL.
In November, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that Mixon was not expected to play at all during the 2025 season.
“If Mixon cannot play at all in 2025, it’s fair to wonder whether we’ve already seen the last of him in the NFL . . .Houston signed Mixon to a two-year extension shortly after trading a seventh-round pick to the Bengals for the running back in March of 2024, setting up what should have been a multi-year partnership intended to provide Stroud with a reliable weapon in the running and passing game,” said Rapoport.
Mixon publicly pushed back on that report at the time, replying on social media: “Now, I get everyone’s looking for splash news & clickbait . . . but I’m just curious, Ian how do you know more about me than me?”
Despite that response, Rapoport’s reporting has so far proven accurate, as there have been no indications that Mixon is anywhere close to returning this season. He hasn’t provided an injury update all year.
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The 29-year-old joined Houston in 2024 after seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He earned Pro Bowl honors that year after rushing 245 times for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, foot injuries have been a recurring concern, and durability questions have followed him into his late twenties.
Meanwhile, the Texans have found success with a more cost-effective backfield combination, with Woody Marks and Nick Chubb emerging as a reliable duo. That development, paired with Mixon’s injury uncertainty, has made his future in Houston increasingly unclear.
From a financial standpoint, the Texans could save $8.5 million in cap space, more than 80% of Mixon’s $10.5 million cap hit for 2026, by releasing him after the start of the 2026 league year.
“If Mixon indeed misses all of 2025 and isn’t in Houston’s plans entering 2026, it would be easy for the Texans to move on from him,” Rapoport added. “Such a decision would also cast doubt on whether another team would be interested in a back with 1,816 carries on his odometer and multiple foot-related injuries in the last two years as he approaches his 30th birthday.”
While Mixon’s immediate future remains uncertain, a return to the field cannot be completely ruled out. He has surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in five of his eight NFL seasons and, if healthy, could still provide value, whether as a starter or in a complementary role.
For now, however, his absence continues to loom over what was once expected to be a long-term partnership in Houston.
Houston Texans’ Stats and Insights for Divisional Round
Playoff: Houston has seven all-time postseason wins, five of which have been by at least 13 points. Six of the franchise’s eight postseason losses have been by at least 13 points.
Team: All five of Houston’s losses have been in one-score games, including the first three weeks of the season. The Texans are 7-5 in one-score games.
QB: C.J. Stroud was sacked three times against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card game after being sacked one time in the final four weeks. Including playoffs, Stroud has now been sacked 26 times this season after 101 sacks in his first two seasons.
OFF: Over the last ten games, the Texans have averaged 26.6 points per game, which is eighth in the NFL in that stretch. In the first eight games, Houston averaged 21.0 points per game, which ranked 24th at the time.
DEF: Houston returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Steelers. The two fourth-quarter turnovers matched the Texans’ regular-season total, when they led the NFL with 15 fourth-quarter turnovers.
