HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� Joe Mixon鈥檚 status for next season remains uncertain after the Houston Texans running back missed all season with what general manager Nick Caserio called a 鈥渇reak鈥� foot injury Wednesday.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen Joe in a little bit, so I think at some point we鈥檒l see him and then we鈥檒l be able to evaluate kind of where he is and then based on information, we鈥檒l see where his status is,鈥� Caserio said.
The Texans provided few details on the 29-year-old Mixon鈥檚 recovery throughout the season after announcing in training camp that he sustained a foot injury away from the facility in the offseason.
Asked for details about his injury Wednesday, Caserio gave a bit more information but still didn鈥檛 specify exactly what the injury was.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like he was riding a snowmobile or anything like that,鈥� Caserio said. 鈥淚t was more of a medical condition or situation that never鈥� really didn鈥檛 improve maybe as much as everybody would have hoped. I鈥檓 not trying to evade the question, that鈥檚 the reality of the situation. He didn鈥檛 jump off a building. He wasn鈥檛 cliff diving or anything. He wasn鈥檛 doing anything irresponsible. It was just a freak thing.鈥�
The Texans reached the divisional round of the playoffs for a third straight season, but their offense took a major hit with Mixon out all season with the injury. It came after he ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with the team in 2024. He has one year remaining on a three-year, $27 million contract extension he signed after joining the Texans following seven years with the Bengals.
Caserio said they weren鈥檛 sure of his status throughout the season but held out hope that he could return at some point.
鈥淚t was a very unique situation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody really had any clarity, honestly, from the start of the year until now. I鈥檇 say Joe worked very, very hard to try to get himself ready to play football, it just never manifested itself, came to fruition. So probably have an opportunity to kind of see where he is in the offseason relative to next year.鈥�
With Mixon out this season, the Texans relied on rookie Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. Marks, a fourth-round pick, led the team with 703 yards rushing and Chubb added 506 yards. The Texans last week, managing just 48 yards rushing.
When asked specifically if they believe Mixon’s condition will improve enough for him to be ready for the start of training camp, Caserio said it’s too soon to tell.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see. Believe me, I鈥檓 not smart enough to be a doctor so I’m going to leave that up to the medical experts,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce we… get a little bit more clarity, more information, we鈥檒l kind of see where we are.鈥�
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