Analyst Sounds Alarm on Texans' Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb

The Houston Texans were hit with some brutal news concerning their star running back, Joe Mixon, over the weekend.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Mixon will be sidelined for an "extended period of time" with a foot injury and will be re-evaluated closer to when the regular season kicks off.

#Texans RB Joe Mixon, who is on the non-football injury list, is expected to be out an extended period of time with a frustrating foot injury, sources say.

The Pro Bowler coming off a 1,000-yard season will be reevaluated closer to the season to determine his availability. pic.twitter.com/Rz4FVhrkBu
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 26, 2025

It's a tough blow for the Texans before the season even starts, keeping the 1,000-yard rusher out of the mix for the foreseeable future, handing the keys to offseason addition Nick Chubb for the time being, with more information to surface closer to Week One

But, even before the Texans were faced with such news regarding Mixon and his health, the consensus around how this backfield would pan out had a few doubters.

Pro Football Focus' Beckett Mesko recently outlined a data-backed take for every team in the NFL leading up to next fantasy season, where for the Texans, the concern was simple: "Fade the Texans' backfield," due to a variety of factors.

"Joe Mixon looks to lead the way in the Texans‘ backfield heading into his age-29 season. He has handled the second-most rushing attempts among active players (1,816, behind Derrick Henry)," Mesko wrote, "Houston also added Woody Marks and Nick Chubb into the equation and lost a number of pieces. There are several question marks on an offensive line that was already poor last season (66.3 PFF overall grade, 26th in NFL). The newly crowded room, the tread on Mixon’s tires and the offensive line uncertainty should scare you off from taking swings on the Texans' backfield."

Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) scores a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth quarter in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Now, already faced with his age of just turning 29 years old, while also combined with his heavy workload from the season prior, the outlook for Mixon has even more concern attached to it, with uncertainty plaguing when he'll truly be ready to suit up for his second season in Houston, and if he'll be at 100%.

From a fantasy perspective, those injury qualms don't quite shape up as favorable to have on anyone's roster.

As for Chubb, while he does have his upside, he also has his own injury worries that have kept him limited for the past couple of seasons, and will be getting his feet wet in a new team and offensive scheme for the first time in his pro career–– making for a difficult situation to approach when trying to find a reliable and steady option in this Texans running back room.

Jul 23, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Nick Chubb (21) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Mixon still has tons of time at his disposal to get his health right before Week One, so it's hard to fully write off his season just yet. But there does remain a fair bit of caution to surround how Houston's run game may develop until his health trends in a positive direction, especially in a fantasy sense.

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