Joe Mixon injury timeline: What we know with Texans RB likely out for season

After Joe Mixon led the Houston Texans in rushing last year, the team had high hopes for him in 2025, but the running back still hasn’t played a single down due to a mysterious foot injury. Now it looks like he’s going to miss the entire season. 

Mixon isn’t expected to play at all this year, per NFL Media. It’s a shocking turn of events for someone who was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2024 during his first season in Houston. Texans general manager Nick Caserio was actually asked about Mixon’s injury this week, and at the time, he gave an ominous update on the running back’s health. 

“I know that we’ve been asked about this multiple times and it’s not that I’m trying to be evasive, it’s just a very gray situation,” Caserio told Sports Radio 610 in Houston. “Joe’s worked at it. There were times when he’s made progress and other times when the progress is kind of stalled there a little bit. Players in his situation are on the reserve list until they’re not, so Joe’s doing everything he can.”

During the interview, Caserio hinted that Mixon might not play again this season. 

“Obviously, we’re getting pretty late in the game here. I don’t want to establish any sort of expectations,” Caserio said. “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. 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.”

With Mixon out, the Texans have been forced to rely on Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. Marks is a rookie fourth-round pick who has shown flashes this season but still hasn’t topped 70 yards in a single game. As for Chubb, the Texans signed the former Browns star just before mandatory minicamp in June after it became clear Mixon wouldn’t be able to participate. 

So what’s going on with Mixon? Let’s take a look at the timeline of his injury. 

Joe Mixon injury timeline

The Mixon injury timeline started in May when he wasn’t able to participate in OTAs, and it’s only gotten more mysterious with each passing day. Let’s take a look at what’s happened over the past few months. 

• May 2025: Mixon missed Houston’s OTAs and minicamp with what was believed to be an ankle injury. (Mixon missed three games in 2024 due to an ankle injury.) At the time, one Texans beat reporter said he expected the running back to be ready for the start of training camp. 
• July 2025: The Texans reported to training camp on July 22, and one day later, Mixon was placed on the NFI list (non-football injury), which implies that Mixon suffered his mysterious foot injury while away from the team. The severity of the injury wasn’t clear until July 26 when news came out that Mixon would be missing a substantial portion of the preseason due to a “frustrating foot injury.” 
• Aug. 25, 2025: For most of August, the Texans were mum about Mixon’s injury, but on Aug. 25, they made a huge move: They kept him on the NFI list for the regular season, which meant that he was going to have to miss at least four games. At the time, the Texans didn’t give any indication that Mixon might miss more than four games. Caserio simply said Mixon would be re-evaluated once he was eligible to return. “With all injured players, you kind of take it one day at a time,” Caserio said on Aug. 27. “Whatever the timeline is, we handle it accordingly. The players that are on PUP or NFI, they’re out four games or four weeks. So once we get through four weeks, we’ll evaluate at that time.”
• Oct. 7, 2025: Mixon was eligible to come off the NFI list in Week 5, but that didn’t happen. After Mixon didn’t play in Houston’s 44-10 win over the Ravens in Week 5 (Oct. 5), Caserio was asked about the running back’s status. “He’s making progress, so we won’t put a particular timetable on it, so I think over the next few three or four weeks, we’ll probably get a little more information here, kind of see how he’s progressing,” Caserio said on Oct. 7. “Once we kind of get to that period, probably have a better sense of which way it’s going to go for the duration of the year.”
• Oct. 27, 2025: Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was asked if he had any sort of update on Mixon’s health and answered with three words. “I do not,” Ryans said on Oct. 27. At the time of Ryans’ interview, Mixon had already missed seven games, and based on the coach’s comments, it was pretty clear he wasn’t coming back anytime soon. 
• Nov. 18, 2025: This is the day Caserio did his most recent interview and based on his comments, it seemed pretty clear Mixon probably wouldn’t return this year. “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,” Caserio said. 
• Nov. 20, 2025: NFL Media reported that Mixon “is not expected” to play again this season. 

If Mixon is truly done for the year, it’s a dramatic and mysterious fall for one of the best offensive players on the team. During the 2024 season, Mixon led the Texans in rushing with 1,016 yards and came up big in both of Houston’s playoff games. In the wild card round, he rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown in a 32-12 win over the Chargers. In the divisional round, he added 88 yards and a touchdown in a 23-14 loss to the Chiefs. 

Without Mixon, the Texans started 0-3 this season. Although they’ve clawed their way back to 5-5, they certainly would have been able to use him for their Thursday night showdown in Week 12 against a Bills team that’s given up the second-most rushing yards in the NFL this year. 

For Mixon, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Bengals before being traded to Houston in March 2024, it’s fair to wonder if the 29-year-old is ever going to play again. The two-time Pro Bowler clearly has a lingering injury, and with the team giving vague details (and Mixon offering zero updates at all), it seems to be more serious than anyone is letting on.