HOUSTON – Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon begins training camp on the injured list for reasons unrelated to American football.
Mixon, who was selected for the Pro Bowl last season in his first year with the Texans, did not participate in voluntary workouts (OTAs) or minicamp due to an ankle injury.
The ankle hasn’t recovered enough for Mixon to play at his best. The non-football injury (NFI) designation indicates that Mixon suffered the injury away from the Texans’ facilities.
Mixon, who turns 28 on Thursday, ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024.
The Texans added players in the offseason prepared to replace Mixon, signing Nick Chubb after seven years with the Cleveland Browns and selecting Woody Marks from USC in the fourth round of the draft.
The Texans hope the ankle injury doesn’t keep Mixon out of action for an extended period, but in the meantime, Chubb will have the opportunity to prove that his last season in Cleveland was an isolated case.
Chubb ranked third on the Browns’ all-time rushing list (6,843 yards), but the end of his tenure in Cleveland was marred by injuries. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season and didn’t return to action until Week 7 of last season. The four-time Pro Bowler ran for 332 yards and recorded career lows in yards per attempt (3.3) and percentage of carries that gained at least 10 yards (4.9%) before suffering a foot fracture in Week 15.
