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Will Joe Mixon play in Week 1? Will Joe Mixon play for the Texans in 2025? John breaks down the latest Joe Mixon injury fantasy football outlook and injury update.
Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot/ankle) is dealing with a lingering injury to his foot and ankle. While we generally expect players' health to improve over the offseason, there are times when aliments persist, and sometimes worsen, when they're not treated with surgery.
We aren't privy to all the specifics of Mixon's injury, but it's a big red flag that he's currently on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. The issue is obviously more serious than previously thought, and it's calling his 2025 season into question.
Some injuries simply need surgical correction. Others need months of rest to recover from, and that's not usually an option for NFL athletes, who need to stay in shape with copious amounts of training. So will Mixon play this season at all? If so, will he be ready for Week 1? Let's dive into these questions and his fantasy football outlook!
Will Joe Mixon Play This Season?
We can't be sure yet, but the assumption is that he will. There have been times where players have missed most or all of a season due to foot and ankle injuries, but usually, they're able to recover sufficiently to take the field again, given time.
Joe Mixon -
Right foot/ankle.
Increased concern due to his past Lisfranc injury on the right side in 2020 (missed 10 games).
Concern here for high ankle sprain, deltoid ligament injury, midfoot sprain.
I expect him to miss time. pic.twitter.com/WfCa1o2bwH— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) September 16, 2024
While Mixon's injury was designated as a Non-Football Injury, it's not clear if it was a re-aggravation of the ankle sprain he suffered in Week 2 of 2024 that knocked him out for three subsequent contests. NFL players are never truly "healthy", though. Football is a damaging sport.
Most players enter the NFL already having permanent injuries. They manage to play through them with the help of painkillers, treatment, therapy, and grit, of course, but that doesn't always do the job. No player is an indestructible machine.
Will Joe Mixon Play In Week 1?
While he's likely to suit up at some point, his chances of playing in Week 1 don't look good. Fantasy managers who have already drafted or are planning on drafting the veteran should look elsewhere for backup plans. While there's been some hype surrounding rookie fourth-round draft pick Woody Marks, he's unlikely to be irrelevant immediately.
Woody Marks is going to get all the praise for that touchdown run.
The bigger story is Dameon Pierce.
He played 91% of the snaps in the first quarter and handled 78% of the attempts.
This matches camp buzz: Pierce battling Chubb for RB1 reps w/ Mixon out.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) August 23, 2025
Based on the data we have right now, it's pretty clear that RBs Dameon Pierce and Nick Chubb are the team's top-2 backs behind Mixon. Marks doesn't have a good athletic profile, wasn't elusive, didn't gain a lot of yards after contact, and just was inefficient overall.
Whatever juice Chubb has left and however Pierce can fit into the current team's run schemes will be the most important factors, according to my analysis, in driving playing time for the team's three backs behind Mixon on the depth chart.
It's probably just better to look elsewhere for production. In deeper leagues, or if you just don't have many options, taking a chance on Chubb or Pierce isn't a horrible idea, but the two may serve in a committee that affords both very little upside in fantasy football.
Joe Mixon 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
Mixon started the 2024 season hot. He logged six games over 20 PPR fantasy points, including a stretch of six games above 16 points. He lit up the scoreboards with a 35.5 point performance against the Dallas Cowboys. But he's a veteran running back with a ton of career touches accrued. His body might just be wearing down.
Players who are healthy in the offseason have a chance to rest up, but the workload seemed to wear on Mixon, whose point totals absolutely plummeted to 10.6, 8.1, 5.9, and 3.8 PPR points in his last four contests. Game script could have played a part, but it's possible he could have been struggling with injuries as well, because his touches plummeted, too.
Absurd stat: Joe Mixon was contacted behind the line of scrimmage on 51.8% of his rushes this season—the highest rate of his career. It’s insane he had the year he did behind an OL that bad. pic.twitter.com/22cqKglEjj
— William Herman (@_williamherman) May 24, 2025
In the scenario where his injury slowed him down toward the end of last season, things don't look good. Perhaps he'll be hampered by it all season. The Texans also have a terrible offensive line that lost a key piece in left tackle Laremy Tunsil. New offensive coordinator Nick Caley seems unlikely to give Mixon as many touches.
The team also signed Chubb and drafted Marks likely to take some of the load off Mixon's shoulders. Having a workhorse back playing through injury just to aggravate his issue and be much less productive later in the year makes no sense. So Mixon managers should be wary. The early 2024 version of him might not return at all.
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