Joe Mixon Could’ve Played His Final Game With Texans

Throughout the 2025 NFL season, the Houston Texans had to roll without the services of their lead runner from the previous year, Joe Mixon, who's been sidelined with a lingering foot injury dating back to last offseason.

It's been a peculiar situation regarding the Texans' running back. Without many updates on his health throughout this past season, his status was largely in the air on a week-to-week basis until enough time passed for his campaign to inevitably come to an end before it started.

Nick Caserio addressed the veteran running back's status during his latest end-of-season presser, but it still left fans with questions regarding what may lie ahead for Mixon in Houston.

"Joe [Mixon] worked very, very hard to try to get himself ready to play football. It just never manifested itself and came to fruition. So, [we'll] probably have an opportunity to kind of see where he is in the offseason, relative to next year... It was as unique a situation, an injury, as I've been associated with,"

But while his health remains unclear, based on some sheer financial implications in play for the veteran running back heading into next season, there's a very real chance that Mixon might've played his last down with the Texans.

Let's take a look at why that is:

Why Joe Mixon Might've Played His Last Snap for the Texans

Regardless of the uncertainty that looms for Mixon's foot and his playing status for 2026, the bigger picture implication for the Texans and his future with the team leans on how his contract will hit the books for next season.

For the 2026 season, Mixon is slated to have a total cap value of $10 million on his deall–– the 11th-highest on the roster, and the 10th-highest valued contract for a running back across the NFL, via OverTheCap.

That's a lot of money to pay for any running back, and especially one that not only hasn't suited up for an NFL game since January of 2025, but also has a cloudy playing status for the 2026 season. That makes it simple for the Texans to cut ties with the veteran back this offseason if they so desired.

Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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In the event Mixon were to be cut from the Texans' roster this season, $2 million of his contract would be slated to hit the books as dead money, but $8 million of that would be designated as cap savings. It's the most cap savings any player on the roster would have in the event Houston were to sever ties, and creates a major financial incentive for the team to do so.

The Texans could add a nice chunk of flexibility to their offseason moves if they landed that $8 million in savings, whether that goes to adding more talent on the offensive line, fortifying the defensive side of the ball, or even re-allocating those dollars to another stud running back to help C.J. Stroud out in the backfield.

Regardless, that flexibility is valuable to have for the months ahead, and could be worthwhile enough for Nick Caserio and Co. to cut ties with Mixon after two years of being in H-Town.

It's certainly not a shoo-in for the Texans to cut Mixon. If determined to be healthy and ready to go for next season during offseason training, Houston could just roll him out for 2026 in hopes of seeing him bounce back to the 1,000-yard rusher he was for the 2024 season, and thus provide a welcomed boost on the offensive side of the ball.

There's a chance it might not be that simple, though, making his status as a potential cap casualty worth keeping an eye on once diving deeper into the offseason.

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