Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio pulled off one of the coups of the 2024 offseason when he acquired running back Joe Mixon for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Mixon rushed for a team-high 1,016 yards and scored 11 touchdowns while adding 36 catches for 309 yards and another score, making Caserio look like a genius and reviving his career after he was expected to be cut by the Cincinnati Bengals despite four 1,000-yard seasons in his last six years with the team.
Mixon was a fantasy football darling, scoring points in bunches as he served as an offensive sparkplug when second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled and Houston’s receiving corps was hit with injury after injury.
With Mixon being a focal point of offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s system, it presumably felt like a gut-punch when the Texans found out the two-time Pro Bowler not only wouldn’t be ready for their Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 7 but he would also miss three additional games as well, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
More NFL: Browns’ Quinshon Judkins Could Exploit NFL Loophole to Return to College
More NFL: Shilo Sanders Joins Brother Shedeur on Canadian Football Team’s Negotiating List
“Texans are not activating running back Joe Mixon by Tuesday’s 4 pm ET deadline, making him ineligible to play at least the first four games this season due to an ankle injury,” Schefter reported. “Mixon will be moved to Reserve/Non-Football Injury, which automatically rules him out for at least four games.”
The good news for Texans fans is the team has two capable backups behind Mixon.
Houston signed four-time Pro Bowler Nick Chubb this offseason after parting ways with the Cleveland Browns.
More NFL: Raiders Linked to Trade for Ex-Pro Bowl QB After Aidan O’Connell Injury
Though some still have some concerns about Chubb’s healthy after the brutal knee injury he suffered against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, the 29-year-old appears to be in great shape and back to almost full strength.
Chubb had four straight 1,000-yard seasons with the Browns from 2019 to 2022, and he’s scored 56 total touchdowns in his seven NFL seasons.
The Texans also have Dameon Pierce — a former fourth-round pick who is just two years removed from his 939-yard, four-touchdown rookie season. Pierce saw his workload falloff drastically over the last two seasons, but he does have 20 games of starting experience under his belt.
More NFL: Shilo Sanders’ Agent Makes Urgent Plea After Buccaneers Release
The post Texans Get Crushing Injury Update on Pro Bowl RB Joe Mixon appeared first on Newsweek.
