Will Joe Mixon Play in Week 1? Fantasy Football Injury Update

August 20, 2025

Will Joe Mixon play for the Houston Texans in 2025? Will Joe Mixon be healthy enough to play in Week 1? John breaks down the latest Joe Mixon injury news for fantasy football.

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot/ankle) is dealing with a lingering injury to one of his ankles and feet. Despite not playing football since the end of the team's 2025 playoff run, he's now on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list due to this ailment.

This likely came as a surprise to many fantasy football managers. Players are supposed to get healthier as the offseason progresses. But the reality of the human body is that sometimes ailments stick around. Most players are playing through major injuries their entire careers.

Usually, most find a way to make it through the offseason without worsening, though. It's possible Mixon could have needed surgery, but opted not to have it, and that ended up being a mistake. These things happen. So will Mixon play at all in 2025? What about Week 1? Let's answer these questions and see about his fantasy football outlook!

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) rankings
• Quarterback (QB) rankings
• Tight end (TE) rankings
• Defense (D/ST) rankings
• Kicker (K) rankings
• FLEX rankings
• Dynasty rankings

Will Joe Mixon Play This Season?

There have been instances of players missing nearly entire seasons due to ankle injuries. For example, Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd missed a ton of time due to an ankle issue last season. He eventually returned to practice, though, even if appendicitis knocked him out for the rest of the year.

If Mixon isn't forced to have surgery, it's likely that he will return at some point. Word out of the Texans organization hasn't indicated that he'll be unavailable for the entire season. Even if he does return to play, though, you have to be worried about the chances of him re-aggravating the issue.

the best video on joe mixon's injury is herehttps://t.co/GU4paIWzZV pic.twitter.com/gbNl8jdQWN

— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) July 29, 2025

News back in July was more optimistic. But it was weirdly framed. If he's suffering from something like this in the offseason, he's likely not doing "great". In fact, I'd argue the opposite. How's his injury supposed to hold up to the wear and tear of being an NFL running back in that case?

Rather, I think he's set to miss at least some time to start the year, and if he does return, who knows how long it will be before he gets hurt again. His usage has caused him to deal with a ton of injuries over his career.

Will Joe Mixon Play In Week 1?

I don't see it as likely. As time has gone on, more negative news has come out about Mixon. It doesn't appear that a surgery is imminent, but that doesn't mean he'll take the field in Week 1. For my money, based on the vibes of everything I've seen so far, I'm absolutely not optimistic.

Joe Mixon update from @AaronWilson_NFL

* Does not expect Mixon to play Week 1

* "A tough situation, a complicated situation"

* Visited a doctor that specializes in electromagnetic therapy to break up scar tissue

* Has not heard of a surgeryhttps://t.co/RALFfrrVLp

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) August 19, 2025

Recent reporting has stated that Mixon is likely to start the season on the Non-Football Injury, or NFI, list. This would guarantee him to miss at least one week. But it wouldn't be a surprise if he missed even more time. Fantasy managers who want to draft him should start thinking about who they'd want to start in his place.

Joe Mixon 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

Mixon is completely off my fantasy radar. For starters, the Texans' offensive coordinator from 2024, Bobby Slowik, was fired after the season concluded. I suspect a large reason for this was his absolute commitment to the run game, even when things clearly weren't working.

Slowik tried to implement the Shanahan-style offense to the best of his ability. That offense is incredibly run-heavy, with a massive emphasis on getting the team's starting running back as much as possible. The problem was that Mixon was no Christian McCaffrey, so this wasn't necessarily a good idea.

Joe Mixon ranked in the 120s reflects that he’s been dealing with the ankle/foot injury for many months now and still doesn’t have a clear timetable

He’s an aging back behind a weak offensive line, and he has a history of missing extended time from lower body injuries

He could… https://t.co/APXjouYkrX

— Josh Larky (@jlarkytweets) August 16, 2025

Mixon's upside might be capped all season due to his injuries. Perhaps the team drafted rookie back Woody Marks because they knew Mixon was less healthy than they previously let on. I wouldn't recommend you draft Marks, though.

The Texans have one of the league's worst offensive lines. I'd avoid all their running backs and look to other teams to fill that spot on the rosters of your fantasy teams. Preferably from squads with better offensive line units.

More Fantasy Football Analysis