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| Texans RB Joe Mixon |
During his weekly Monday morning press conference, Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was asked about the status of ninth-year running back Joe Mixon, who has missed training camp and preseason games due to a lower leg injury he sustained in the spring.
“We’ll give you guys an update when the time comes,” said Ryans via Zoom. “We’re still working through some things. Collectively, with myself and [Executive Vice President and General Manager] Nick [Caserio] still working through it, still a lot of decisions to be made.”
The Texans organization wasted no time with their decision on Mixon as they announced that he will be removed from the Active/Non-Football injury list to the Reserved/Non-Football injury list on Tuesday, which will keep him out for at least the first four regular-season games.
Barring any significant setbacks, Mixon will be eligible to return to action in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.
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| Texans RB Nick Chubb |
With this latest news, Houston will now prioritize giving most of the running back snaps to Nick Chubb, whom they signed in June this past offseason, in hopes that he can return to some form of his 2022 self, when he achieved a career-high 1,525 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns with the Cleveland Browns.
Chubb has worked himself back into NFL game shape after suffering two significant lower leg injuries over the past two seasons, causing him to miss a total of 24 games.
“[RB Nick] Chubb, from the first day he got here until now, I’ve seen him just continue to grow and get better,” said Ryans. “You see him get into football shape, and I see him look better and better each week. Especially once we put the pads on, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is the Chubb that I remember.’
“Physical downhill player. You see him popping some runs. He still has the explosion, the speed that it takes to make plays in this league. The guy just understands football. Very smart player. Playmaker. When you need him to make plays, he’s going to make those plays. He’s going to keep churning out yards, so I’m very impressed with Chubb.”
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| Texans Rookie RB Woody Marks |
The return of Dameon Pierce, who also missed a significant amount of camp due to a hamstring injury, will give the Texans reliable backups for Chubb with Dare Ogunbowale and rookie Woody Marks.
“We have a very deep running back room,” Ryans said on Monday. “What [RB] Woody [Marks] has been able to show throughout the preseason. It’s just a lot of players that can provide a ton of depth for us and guys that can really get us through the season.”