Joe Mixon had a brilliant 2024 season for the Houston Texans, the first NFL campaign he spent away from the Cincinnati Bengals.
His encore looked like it'd be exciting in 2025 as the rest of the Texans continued to grow up around him.
Instead, Mixon won't play a single snap this season.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport posted on X on Thursday that Mixon isn't going to be taking the field for the Texans in 2025.
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Why isn't Joe Mixon coming back this season?
Mixon's absence stems from an offseason foot injury.
It's been a bit of an odd one from the start. There was never that much clarity on what Mixon had done to his foot, and at first, there wasn't a suggestion that it would be this lengthy an absence.
But as time went on, Mixon simply never came back into the picture. The Texans never alluded to activating him.
As early as a handful of weeks into the season, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans had already spoken about Mixon in the past tense, saying, “We’re rolling with the guys that are here. That’s the main thing. We miss Joe, miss his energy, and his enthusiasm and everything he brought to our team. We continue to press forward and hope he’s doing well.”
The Texans have been fine in the backfield with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks.
The Mixon absence has been more odd than anything else.
Mixon is under contract with the Texans for 2026 for $8 million, but they can get out of the deal with only a $2 million dead cap hit, which seems likely at this point.
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