Houston Texans Hit With Brutal Joe Mixon Reality: Star RB Sidelined

The Houston Texans just got served a hefty dose of reality with their morning coffee. Joe Mixon, their Pro Bowl running back who bulldozed his way to over 1,000 yards last season, won’t be suiting up for at least the first month of the 2025 campaign. How will the team fare without him?

The Mixon Ankle Saga Takes Another Turn

Mixon has been battling an ankle injury that’s been more persistent than that one friend who keeps asking to borrow money. The Texans officially announced they’re moving him from the Active/Non-Football Injury list to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list.

This isn’t exactly shocking news for anyone who’s been paying attention. Mixon has been MIA since the team’s divisional playoff loss to Kansas City, missing OTAs, minicamp, training camp, and all three preseason games. At this point, Texans fans have seen more of Bigfoot than they have of their star running back.

The timing couldn’t be more brutal for Houston. They are looking at a gauntlet that includes road trips to Los Angeles and Baltimore, plus divisional scraps with Jacksonville and Tennessee. These aren’t exactly the games you want to be playing with your running back depth chart looking thinner than a gas station hot dog.

Enter the Cavalry: Chubb and Company

But here’s where things get interesting. The Texans weren’t exactly caught sleeping at the wheel. They made some savvy moves that now look like pure genius, starting with the signing of four-time Pro Bowler Nick Chubb. After seven solid seasons in Cleveland, Chubb brings that veteran presence and bulldozer mentality that could fill the Mixon-sized hole in Houston’s offense.

Then there’s fourth-round rookie Woody Marks out of USC, who has been turning heads in practice. The kid’s got that fresh-legs energy and the hunger to prove he belongs on an NFL roster. Sometimes that combination is exactly what a team needs when adversity strikes.

Don’t sleep on Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale either. Pierce showed flashes of brilliance before his own injury concerns, and Ogunbowale brings that versatile skill set that can line up anywhere and make plays happen.

What This Means For Houston’s Championship Dreams

Let’s be real about what we’re dealing with here. Mixon wasn’t just another guy in the backfield last season. The man carried the rock 245 times for 1,016 yards and found the end zone 12 times. Those aren’t numbers you just replace with a snap of your fingers.

But here’s the thing about championship-caliber teams: they find ways to adapt and overcome. The Texans have C.J. Stroud slinging the rock, a receiving corps that can stretch defenses, and a coaching staff that’s proven they can adjust game plans on the fly.

The real test will be whether this running back committee can maintain the ground game that helped make Houston’s offense so dangerous last season. Can Chubb recapture his Cleveland magic in a new system? Will Pierce stay healthy enough to contribute? Can the rookie Marks handle the spotlight when his number gets called?

The Silver Lining Nobody’s Talking About

Here is a hot take that might ruffle some feathers: this could actually work out better than expected for Houston. Running back by committee has become the new normal in the NFL, and now the Texans get to ease into that system with some quality depth pieces.

Chubb gets a fresh start after those injury concerns in Cleveland, Pierce gets another shot to prove he’s more than just a flash in the pan, and Marks gets to learn from veterans while contributing as a rookie. Plus, when Mixon does return, he will be fresh, healthy, and ready to make an impact during the meat of the season and hopefully a playoff run.