The Houston Texans won’t be using Joe Mixon until at least their fourth game of the season. This comes after they placed the running back in the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list in late August. Players placed on the list can’t be used at least until the fourth game of the regular season, which doesn’t bode well for the prospects of seeing Mixon anytime soon.
The NFL franchise hasn’t provided many details about Mixon’s injury, although ESPN has reported it’s an ankle injury. They also took some steps to fill in the gap by signing veteran Nick Chubb ahead of the season, which means they are expecting their RB1 to be out for a considerable time.
The team’s original statement about the player’s situation said:
“Tomorrow, August 26, at 3 PM CST, we will officially move RB Joe Mixon from the Active/Non-Football Injury list to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list.”
“Players placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list may begin to practice and play after the club’s fourth game of the regular season. We will provide further updates at an appropriate time,” the statement further read.
The Texans relied heavily on Chubb during their Week 1 9-14 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, with the running back recording 60 rushing yards in 13 carries.
An update on RB Joe Mixon. pic.twitter.com/nUSc8DSNl5
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 25, 2025
Notably, Joe Mixon rushed for 1016 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024, earning a Pro Bowl selection in the process.
Quarterback CJ Stroud Believes Houston Texans Could’ve Won Against Los Angeles Rams
The Houston Texans seemed unable to close out the deal in their Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams. In a game that finished 14-9 in favor of the Rams, the Texans failed to find the end zone even once and couldn’t score any points after halftime.
Speaking after the game, quarterback CJ Stroud seemed disappointed that the team couldn’t win the encounter:
“That’s a really good defense, a really good team, but I definitely think we could have won,” Stroud said. “We didn’t deserve to win that game because we didn’t do the right things. When you come out in the NFL lollygagging and going through the motions, that kind of happens. I think we’ll be all right, but I think it’s a good wake-up call for us.”
CJ Stroud had a poor game overall, with only 188 passing yards and an interception. The bright spot of his performance was his 70% completion percentage.
Joe Mixon Injury Update
While there have been no updates from the team’s official account, multiple doctors have chimed in on X (Formerly Twitter) with assessments for the Texans star’s injury.
The main concern is: If the tissue trauma from past was aggravated, it still hasn’t healed fully and wasn’t surgically addressed (maybe it doesn’t need to be) but that means there’s increased risk that it can be aggravated in-season. Adding to the concern, Mixon will be re-evaluated “close to week 1”, meaning he won’t be getting practice reps like usual leading up to week 1. So now we also have concern on efficiency and production dip in the early weeks of the season.
In the meantime, Nick Chubb remains the Houston Texans’ best weapon at tailback, putting up 43 yards on 12 touches along with one touchdown. However, the effort wasn’t enough to topple the Bucs as Baker Mayfield and Co. handed the Texans their second loss in a row. CJ Stroud steps back into action on Sunday, 21st September vs the Jacksonville Jaguars
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