Texans place Joe Mixon on NFI list, out at least four games

The Houston Texans will begin the season without running back Joe Mixon after the team moved him to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list, guaranteeing at least a four-game absence. The designation comes after Mixon sustained a foot injury while away from the club in the offseason, and it leaves the Texans to proceed with a backfield that now centers on Nick Chubb and a mix of veterans and youth behind him. The team must cut to 53 players on Tuesday, and a decision on Mixon’s activation will factor into the final roster plan ahead of Week 1 action against the Los Angeles Rams.

Head coach DeMeco Ryans would not offer an update on Mixon’s status when pressed at the start of the week, signaling that internal discussions and medical evaluations were ongoing. The team subsequently announced the move to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list, which makes Mixon ineligible to play until after the first four games. That timeline aligns with the early schedule, which has Houston opening the season with games against the Rams, followed by matchups with the Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Titans. If Mixon remains on the list, his earliest return would be Week 5, a road trip to Baltimore.