HOUSTON — Joe Mixon’s status for next season remains uncertain. houston texans General manager Nick Caserio on Wednesday called the foot injury “weird” that has caused the running back to miss the entire season.
“We haven’t seen Joe a little bit, so I think at some point we’ll see him and then we’ll be able to evaluate where he’s at and then based on the information we get, we’ll see where his status is,” Caserio said.
The Texans provided few details on Mixon’s recovery throughout the season after making the announcement in training camp hurt my leg Away from the facility in the offseason.
When asked for details about his injury on Wednesday, Caserio provided some more details but still did not specify what exactly the injury was.
“It wasn’t like he was riding a snowmobile or anything like that,” Caserio said. “It was a medical condition or a condition that never … really improved as much as everyone expected. I’m not trying to avoid the question, that’s the reality of the situation. He didn’t jump off a building. He wasn’t cliff diving or anything. He wasn’t doing anything irresponsible. It was just a weird thing.”
The Texans reached the divisional round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but their offense was dealt a major blow with Mixon missing the entire season due to injury. This happened after he rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with the team in 2024. Joining the Texans after seven years with the Bengals, he signed a three-year, $27 million contract extension with one year remaining.
Caserio said they were unsure of his status throughout the season, but were hopeful he could return at some point.
“It was a very unique situation,” he said. “Honestly, from the beginning of the year until now I don’t think anyone really had any clarity. I will say Joe worked very, very hard to prepare himself to play football, but it never manifested, came to fruition. So maybe this is an opportunity to see where he is in the offseason versus next year.”
With the 29-year-old Mixon out this season, the Texans relied on the rookie woody marks And Nick Chubb. Fourth-round pick Marks led the team in rushing with 703 yards, and Chubb added 506 yards. In last week’s loss to New England, the Texans struggled to run the ball and managed only 48 yards.
When asked specifically if he believed Mixon’s condition would improve enough for him to be ready for the start of training camp, Caserio said it was too early to tell.
He said, “We’ll see. Trust me, I’m not smart enough to be a doctor so I’m leaving it to the medical experts.” “Once we get … a little more clarity, more information, we’ll see where we are.”
