Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio offered his most extensive comments on Joe Mixon to date, following a lost season on the field for the two-time Pro Bowl running back.
There was not much in the form of encouraging details.
Instead, Caserio offered a quick debriefing of what happened regarding Mixon this season and the Texans’ plans for a player who was their prized trade acquisition in a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2024 offseason.
Texans GM Gets Honest About Joe Mixon’s Future
GettyJoe Mixon #28 of the Houston Texans warms up before a game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The hope was that Mixon would follow up his strong debut season in 2024, his first season with the Texans, with an improved effort in 2025 under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Mixon never so much as practiced for the Texans during the offseason program.
Mixon rejected reports that he would miss the entire season, but Caserio has consistently been non-committal, despite never fully closing the door on the idea.
Unfortunately, the Texans enter the offseason with the same questions about Mixon.
“It was a very unique situation. I don’t think anybody really had any clarity, honestly, from the start of the year until now. I’d say Joe worked very, very hard to try to get himself ready to play football. It just never manifested itself and came to fruition,” Caserio said on January 21.
“Probably have an opportunity to kind of see where he is in the offseason, relative to next year. But again, it was very it was as unique a situation, an injury, as I’ve been associated with. And it’s just, I don’t want to call it a ‘freak thing,’ but it’s just kind of a freak thing. And Joe worked really hard, put his best foot forward. It just–it didn’t work out.”
The Texans have not been done any favors by the nebulous nature of the injury, which has only been described as a foot and/or ankle issue.
Caserio joked that he was not “smart enough” to evaluate the injury, but defended Mixon.
“He didn’t do anything off the field. It wasn’t like he was riding like a snowmobile, or anything like that. I’d say it was just more of a medical condition, or situation, that just–we never–it really didn’t improve, maybe, as much as everybody would have hoped,” Caserio said. “He didn’t jump off a building. He wasn’t cliff diving, or anything like that; He wasn’t doing anything irresponsible. It was just–it was a freak thing. Honestly, I’ve never seen it, just the condition.”
Joe Mixon Uncertain for 2026
GettyJoe Mixon #28 of the Houston Texans takes the field before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Caserio said the Texans “haven’t seen Joe in a little bit,” hence the uncertainty around his current status, adding that they will evaluate him once they get that opportunity.
That begs the question about what happens once they do and his future with the Texans.
“Yeah,” Caserio said when asked if he wanted Mixon back in a Texans uniform next season, before hedging. “He’s under contract. So, we’ll evaluate his situation. And then, we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Mixon has no more guaranteed money on his two-year, $19.7 million contract, which could facilitate his exit from the Texans.
Further complicating matters is that Caserio is uncertain if Mixon would be ready for 2026.
“It’s honestly hard to answer that right now because we haven’t really seen him in a little bit,” Caserio said. “At some point, we’ll see him, [and] we’ll probably get a better idea. Maybe do some follow-up examinations and get more information. Once we have more information, I think we’ll be able to make a better assessment.”
Texans Not Concerned With Recent Trade Outcomes
GettyStefon Diggs #8 of the New England Patriots looks on during a game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Mixon’s injury harkens back to the Texans’ trade for Stefon Diggs during the same offseason window. Diggs, now a member of the New England Patriots, played in a career-low eight games that season due to a torn ACL and was gone after one season.
Caserio asserted that both players “helped our team,” and that every roster move is not going to “go the way that you think, or hope, it’s going to go.”
Moreover, sometimes there is nothing the team can do.
“Some of it’s in your control. Some of it’s not,” Caserio said. “All we can do is look at it, okay, deal with the reality, and just press forward. So, try not to get too caught up in one particular thing. I think DeMeco and I kind of look at things that way. So, that’s probably why we get along so well.”
The Texans also cut 2025 offseason trade pickup C.J. Gardner-Johnson three weeks into the regular season.
Whatever Caserio and the Texans do with Mixon will significantly impact the rest of their roster.
Texans Share Ominous Information About Joe Mixon After Lost Season