Joe Mixon Injury Update: When Will RB Return to Texans?

Two-time Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon remains sidelined with a mysterious foot/ankle injury that he suffered away from the Houston Texans this past offseason. Fantasy football owners and Texans fans have been waiting with bated breath regarding any injury update concerning Mixon. Below, we will dish out the latest information on when Mixon will return and be back with the Texans.

🏥 When will Joe Mixon return and be back with Texans?

Reports started coming out toward the end of July that Mixon had injured his foot/ankle. NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported that Mixon dealt with two separate issues in the foot/ankle area last season, but that this was a new injury.

The Texans initially made it seem that Mixon would be ready to play early in the regular season, but in mid-August it was reported that Week 1 was in jeopardy. The Texans then placed Mixon on the reserve/PUP list in late August, cementing the fact that he would be out at least the first four weeks of the season.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio has been quite vague with a timeline on Mixon’s recovery. 

“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 the PUP or NFI, they’re out for games or four weeks. So once we get through four weeks, we’ll evaluate at that time.”

We should expect a Mixon injury update from Caserio next week, considering that would be after the four-week period. By all accounts, it is highly unlikely that we will see Mixon on the practice field next week. Even if he were to return in the coming days, he would surely need a ramp-up period, considering he missed all of training camp and the preseason.

Nonetheless, here is the Texans’ upcoming schedule with the mandatory four-week PUP period about to expire.

• Week 5 Sunday, Oct. 5: Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
• Week 6: Bye week
• Week 7 Monday, Oct. 20: Houston Texans at Seattle Seahawks
• Week 8 Sunday, Oct. 26: San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans

In the off-chance Mixon is ready to play soon, it would make sense to have the RB return on Monday, Oct. 20 at the Seattle Seahawks. The Week 6 bye would give Mixon a little more ramp-up time.

Because of the lack of information regarding Mixon’s status, it is extremely difficult to put a timetable on his return.

⏳ How long will Joe Mixon be out for?

Click2Houston.com had the most detailed description of the Mixon injury, back on Aug. 15:

"Among the things the team is working through is a lingering foot-ankle injury for Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, suffered away from the Texans with him progressing from a walking boot, to wearing a brace to having increased mobility over the summer to, now, still being out indefinitely while rehabbing and navigating a somewhat complicated medical issue."

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio speculated that the injury could impact Mixon financially, the longer he remains out:

"It’s been called a foot injury. It’s been called an ankle injury. Because it’s a non-football injury, it happened away from work. No one is saying how it happened or what the expected duration is.

"The injury has financial ramifications. For each game Mixon misses, he’ll lose $29,411 in per-game active roster bonuses. And since payment of the player is discretionary, his $7 million base salary (at game checks of $388,888 each) is in jeopardy.

"There’s also a chance that he’s in default as to his signing bonus. The proration for 2025 is $2 million. It’s unclear why the approach has been silence. It invites speculation that Mixon may not be back for a while, and that the Texans may not pay him while he’s out."

🏈 Joe Mixon fantasy football outlook

Mixon was going around the 13th round of most 12-team PPR fantasy football drafts. This is a far cry from 2024, when Mixon was going in Round 2 or Round 3 of most drafts.

Mixon has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL during the 2020s. He is coming off a season in which he amassed 1,016 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in just 14 games played.

💰 Texans betting odds

The Texans have gotten off to a brutal start as they sit at 0-3. Each of the losses were tight, however, and there is still hope that they can turn things around. 

Texans Super Bowl odds sit at +7500. Their projected win total is now 6.5 victories, according to the best NFL betting sites.