Joe Mixon never made it back.
The Texans’ veteran running back is expected to miss the rest of the season with the foot injury he suffered in the offseason, according to NFL Network.
Houston (5-5) enters Thursday’s home game against the Bills one game behind the Jaguars for the seventh and final AFC playoff spot.
That Mixon won’t play again this season is not a shocking development considering how long his absence has lingered after the unexpected setback during camp.
A report emerged in late July that the two-time Pro Bowler would miss extended time with a foot injury and would begin training camp on the non-football injury list.
NFL Network reported at the time that Mixon would be evaluated again once the season neared.
Mixon ultimately did not participate in any offseason or training camp workouts, per ESPN.
The 29-year-old then landed on the reserve/non-football injury list to begin the season, and general manager Nick Caserio said in late August that the team was taking it one day at a time.
Caserio provided an update in October, saying that Mixon was progressing and he expected to have a “better idea” of his status in a few weeks.
Well, it’s now mid-November and there finally is some clarity.
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Caserio provided a non-update Tuesday on SportsRadio610 when asked about Mixon’s situation.
“It’s not that I’m trying to be like evasive, it’s just a very gray situation,” Caserio said. “Joe’s worked at it. There were times where he’s made progress and other times when the progress is kind of stalled there a little bit. Players in his status or situation are on the reserve list until they’re not. Joe’s doing everything he can. Obviously we’re getting pretty late in the game here, so I don’t want to establish any sort of expectations. A month ago or whatever it was, I mentioned we’d have a better idea here in the next three or four weeks or whatever it was. I don’t think we have any more clarity at this point.
“I think at this point he’s out until he’s not. Again, it’s a very gray, a lot of ambiguity, there’s not a lot of clarity, it’s nobody’s fault, it’s just the reality of the situation.”
Mixon signed a three-year, $27 million extension with the Texans after the team acquired him from the Bengals prior to the 2024 season for a seventh-round pick.
He rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns while helping Houston to the playoffs last season.
With Woddy Marks’ emergence, the Texans will have to decide whether they want to escape his contract in the offseason. Cutting Mixon would cost the team just $2 million in dead cap space, per spotrac.com.
Veteran Nick Chubb has led the Texans with 419 rushing yards in Mixon’s absence, while Marks has 348 yards.
The Texans rank 23rd in rushing yards per game with 107.6.
