Hosuston Texans Running Back Joe Mixon In Danger Of Missing Week 1

Joe Mixon, the Houston Texans’ workhorse running back, is once again sidetracked by an injury. And not just any injury, but a non-football-related one. The guy who was supposed to be the backbone of the Texans’ run game this season is on the non-football injury (NFI) list with a frustrating foot problem. 

The Texans have been trying to downplay the issue. It seemed like just a minor blip in spring workouts, but fast forward to now, and Mixon is expected to be out for an extended period. Best-case scenario, he might be ready by Week 1… or he might not. How did the injury even happen? Nobody’s saying, and because it’s “non-football-related,” the Texans might have the option to void up to $4 million in Mixon’s guaranteed salary. Ouch—in more ways than one.

How Will the Houston Texans Fare Without Mixon?

Enter Nick Chubb. The guy who was the running back in Cleveland before a gruesome knee injury in 2023 essentially turned his career into a massive question mark. Chubb signed a bargain-bin, one-year $2.5 million deal with Houston back in June, which at the time felt like just some nice backfield insurance. Now it’s looking like a genius-level, crystal-ball move by Houston’s front office.

The irony of it all? For a team that thought it had depth in the backfield, things are looking a tad precarious. Dameon Pierce, another potential plug-in, also started camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Plus, J.J. Taylor, a scrappy addition to the backfield, is dealing with his own mysterious ailments. If you are a Texans running back, you’re either hurt, recovering, or probably looking at your feet a little nervously right now.

Houston’s Running Back Room

The Texans do have a possible wild card in fourth-round rookie Woody Marks, who’s generating some quiet buzz as a potential secret weapon. But relying on an unproven rookie to carry any significant load while veterans like Chubb try to prove they’re still capable isn’t exactly the most inspiring scenario.

This brings us back to Mixon and his 2024 performance, which, to be fair, wasn’t bad. He racked up over 1,000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns despite battling through injury woes and missing three games. He proved himself as the Texans’ reliable bell cow when healthy. He may not be healthy anytime soon.

It also begs the question of how durable Chubb is nowadays. While his pre-injury career was great, his recent track record (10 games played in the past two seasons) is not good. Still, the optimist would say this is Chubb’s redemption arc in the making.

Final Thoughts

Houston opens the season on September 7 with the Rams, and it’s anyone’s guess who’s getting the bulk of the carries by that point. Can Chubb reclaim even part of what made him a perennial Pro Bowler? Will Marks step up, or will this running back rotation spiral into a next-man-up fest of necessity? For a team that looked poised to make some noise in a wide-open AFC South, this running back soap opera is not the subplot they wanted heading into training camp.