It's been one full year since Joe Mixon last put on a Houston Texans uniform, scoring a touchdown and racking up 100 yards of total offense in a Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last January. Even in defeat, it put the cap on a season in which Mixon gave the Texans offense something it had lacked in the few seasons prior... a reliable, durable, and objectively above-average bellcow back.
Mixon's numbers have never jumped off the page, but at the same time, his consistency has remained an underrated part of what has made him a valuable piece of offenses in both Houston and Cincinnati. The Texans could count on Mixon to show up each and every week and give them a little over four yards per carry. He has a nose for the end zone and he had proven to be a workable piece of any sort of passing attack coming out of the backfield.
It was this consistency that made Mixon's absence for the entire 2026 season so surprising and so damaging for the Texans offense. Not having that ball-carrier you could count on to keep the offense on track and out of 2nd or 3rd and long situations was missing all year, and it's part of the reason why Houston's offense failed to make meaningful strides in its first season under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley.
By season's end, Mixon seemed to be chomping at the bit to make a return to the field, even posting this message on his Instagram shortly after the conclusion of Sunday's AFC Championship Game.
Joe Mixon on IG: pic.twitter.com/3l8g7yHFfM
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) January 26, 2026
It's understandable that Mixon would be so eager to get back to playing the game he loves, but the question remains... will he return to the field in Houston, or will that return come somewhere else around the NFL, because since the season has ended, neither Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans or general manager Nick Caserio has appeared too optimistic that Mixon will be in the home locker room at NRG Stadium come September.
“As of right now, I don’t know that answer right now. No clarity,” Ryans responded recently when he was asked if Mixon will return for the 2026 season. "Joe, he’s a really great running back for us and not having him, yes, of course, it affected our running game. Joe is one of the top running backs in this league. That affected us.”
“He’s under contract,” Caserio told reporters on January 21 when asked about Mixon's potential return. “We’ll evaluate his situation. And then, we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Though there is a clear need for the Texans to go into the 2026 season with far more backfield depth than they did in 2025, that doesn't necessarily mean Mixon will be part of that equation. In fact, it would actually make financial sense for the Texans to part ways with Mixon, considering it would free up $8.5 million of cap space if he were off Houston's books. For a team that has a handful of tough financial decisions to make over the next year or two, every little bit of saved cash will count.
What that means for Joe Mixon remains to be seen, but whether he's in a Texans uniform or not, hopefully 2026 will indeed be the year Mixon gets back to his consistent form.