Should I drop Joe Mixon in fantasy? Injury outlook for Texans RB raises question

Joe Mixon is not having the season he wanted.

After a brilliant debut campaign for the Houston Texans in 2024, he hasn't even left the station in 2025 due to injury.

Mixon sustained a non-football injury during the offseason, involving his ankle, one that hasn't been clarified further than that until this point.

But he hasn't played at all since the beginning of training camp. 

Mixon is on the non-football injury list, which keeps him out through Week 4, at minimum. But it might be longer.

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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has spoken about Mixon in the past tense, saying, “We’re rolling with the guys that are here. That’s the main thing. We miss Joe, miss his energy, and his enthusiasm and everything he brought to our team. We continue to press forward and hope he’s doing well.”

That doesn't seem great.

Should I drop Joe Mixon in fantasy?

This is a two-pronged answer.

First, if you've got injured reserve spots in your league and Mixon is eligible to be placed there, do that.

If you don't have IR, or if Mixon's status on the NFI doesn't allow him to go there, then you can consider dropping him.

Most likely, you should indeed drop Mixon if you can't put him on IR.

At best, he comes back sometime in the middle of the season, and still has to get up to speed, and might have competition from Nick Chubb or Dameon Pierce or Woody Marks, whoever makes the biggest mark in the preceding weeks.

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And at worst, Mixon is out the whole season, or too long to ever make an impact for your team.

Pick up someone with a bit of upside, or with a good matchup coming up, and don't stress further about Mixon.

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