When Will Joe Mixon Return and Be Back? Fantasy Football Injury Update for Week 5 (2025)

by Andy Smith

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When will Joe Mixon return and play? Will Joe Mixon be back again this season? Read the latest Joe Mixon injury updates and return date for Week 5 (2025).

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2. Joe Mixon Fantasy Football Outlook

3. Who Should I Start Tool

5. More Fantasy Football Analysis

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot) has been on the non-football injury/reserve list since the beginning of the season. The team has not provided any significant updates on its status, leaving managers in a difficult position.

While he is eligible to return in Week 5, seeing that he has yet to practice suggests he is still facing a lengthy recovery timeline.

When will Joe Mixon return to action, and what is his fantasy football outlook when he does? Let's dive in.

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Joe Mixon Injury Update

Earlier this week, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reported that the running back is not nearing a return. Wilson noted that, according to his source, the team's No. 1 RB is still sidelined and may not be able to return to action this season.

While Mixon has not been officially ruled out for the remainder of the season, fantasy managers should not expect him to return in the near future.

As a result, managers should only consider stashing Mixon on their roster in the deeper formats that have IR spots. Managers in leagues without IR spots should not consider holding Mixon on their roster.

Joe Mixon Fantasy Football Outlook

Given that Mixon does not have a clear timeline and may miss the entirety of the season, managers in shallower formats should feel comfortable cutting him in favor of running backs who are currently active. Due to his injury, there is no guarantee Mixon sees his typical workload if he can turn the corner in time.

The team appears to be looking elsewhere to find production in their backfield as they gave rookie Woody Marks his largest workload of the season in Week 4, and he appears to be primed to take over starting duties. After having a minimal role through the first three games, Marks saw a team-high 17 carries in Week 4 and scored two touchdowns, one on the ground and the other through the air.

While veteran Nick Chubb should remain involved in the backfield, given Marks's breakout performance, fantasy managers should expect him to operate as the lead man going forward.

With his unknown timetable and the emergence of Marks, Mixon currently holds minimal fantasy value, which continues to decline each week. Marks should be viewed as a priority waiver wire target heading into Week 5.

Joe Mixon Not Ready to Return https://t.co/x22mNOdy8w

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 29, 2025

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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Deciding who to start instead? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Nick Chubb, Michael Carter, Zach Charbonnet, Rachaad White ,Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 3. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.

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Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.

Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons

Deciding who to start instead? Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Nick Chubb, Michael Carter, Zach Charbonnet, Rachaad White ,Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt compared to others: