The Texans are starting the season without Joe Mixon.
The star running back will miss at least the first four games after the team announced Monday that Mixon will be placed on the reserve/non-football injury list at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tuesday is the day NFL teams have to cut down their rosters to 53 players.
Mixon has been out with a foot injury that occurred when he was not with the team in the spring, and he hasn’t taken part in offseason activities, training camp practices or preseason games.
He started training camp on the active/NFI list, and his placement on it for the start of the season means he’s ineligible for at least four games to start the 2025 campaign.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans would not say what Mixon’s availability would be when he spoke to reporters earlier in the day.
“We’ll give an update when the time comes,” Ryans said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “We’re still working through some things collectively with myself and [general manager] Nick [Caserio]. Still working through it, and still a lot of decisions to be made here.”
Nick Chubb has been the No. 1 running back for the Texans without Mixon on the field, and the team also has Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, rookie Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan at their disposal.
Ryans expressed confidence in the clubs’ backs when he addressed reporters.
“We know what both [Mixon and Chubb] are capable of,” Ryans said. “You also throw Dameon in the mix. We have a very deep running back room with what Woody has been able to show us throughout the preseason. It’s just a lot of players that can provide a ton of depth for us and guys that can really get us through the season.”
The Texans open up their season Sept. 7 against the Rams.
