Make no mistake; when Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon is on the field, he makes an impact.
His ability to absorb hits from defenders twice his size and stay upright, or his smooth, cut-back running style to evade tacklers, has made him one of the top running backs in the NFL.
However, the biggest concern for the Texans right now is when he will return to the field.
On Tuesday, the team placed him on the Non-Football Injury list after he missed all of training camp and preseason action while recovering from an ankle injury he reportedly sustained in the offseason.
Once a player is placed on the NFI, they are required to miss a minimum of four games. If healthy, Mixon will be eligible to return in the Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
One of the main concerns for the media and fans is the phrase, “If healthy.” What they want set in stone is “When healthy,” when talking about the return of one of the essential pieces to the Texans’ offensive scheme that will be installed by the new offensive coordinator, Nick Caley.
“With all the injured players, we’ll take it one day at a time,” said Houston Texans General Manager Nick Caserio about Mixon during his press conference on Wednesday. “Whatever their timeline is, we’ll handle it accordingly. The players who are on PUP [Physically Unable to Perform] or NFI [Non-Football Injury/Illness] are out four games or four weeks. Once we get through four weeks, we’ll evaluate it at that time.”
When asked how Mixon ended up on the NFI list instead of the PUP, Caserio responded, “It’s not my call. It’s the league’s call. You turn the transactions in, and they put the players in categories. So, that’s how it’s handled.”
Mixon, 29, led the Texans last season in rushing with 1,016 yards and in touchdowns with 11, earning a spot in the 2024 NFL Pro Bowl.
His contributions helped Houston secure their second consecutive AFC South Championship and advance to the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs.
There have been numerous questions and concerns surrounding how Mixon’s injury occurred and the timeframe in which it happened.
Mixon was placed on the football non-injury list before the beginning of camp and was rumored to be in and out of the facility for treatment on his ankle.
Yet, there were never any indications that he had suffered a setback during the rehabilitation process; all that was ever reported was that he was day-to-day and his status remained the same as it did when camp started.
The team’s lack of transparency could lead media members and fans to speculate about Mixon’s health and return, which head coach DeMeco Ryans wants to avoid.
“I don’t talk about the injuries much because I’m thinking about the player,” said Ryans during his press conference on Wednesday. “It’s different for me, I played the game. So, I can see all the news and media that’s circulates on everybody speculating. It’s not us speculating, it’s everybody who’s writing the stories [that] are speculating. So, it’s more let’s not speculate if you don’t know the true information.”
That response still makes many wonder, “When will the true information be revealed?”
Ryans, who is headed into his third year as head coach of the Texans, has his players and the team’s best interests to protect, something he will do at all costs.
“It’s all out of respect for the players and the men who put the work in, in the locker room, to grind and what they put their bodies through to be on the field,” Ryans responded when asked about the silence around reporting player injuries. “That’s always at the forefront of my thoughts. Everybody doesn’t care about our players in that manner.”
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| Texans Running Back Nick Chubb |
With Mixon unavailable to participate in any of the team’s activities, the Texans signed former Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb this offseason as an insurance policy. Now it looks as if he will be the starter in Houston’s Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
To lighten Chubb’s workload, as he has missed a combined 24 games over the past two seasons due to lower leg injuries, the Texans ensured their roster was filled with reserves, including rookie Woody Marks, Dare Ogunbowale, British Brooks, Dameon Pierce, and they also added Jawhar Jordan to the practice squad.