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Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle) hasn't played since Week 2 after suffering a high-ankle sprain against the Chicago Bears. It's been a frustrating situation for fantasy managers, who have been dragged along with the "week-to-week" narrative from the Texans, not knowing when he'll return.
It would be nice if teams were more up-front about injury return timelines, but that's not the world we live in. Fantasy managers don't have much choice but to execute backup plans and wait for when their injured players return.
So, when will Joe Mixon return and be back for the Texans?
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Joe Mixon Injury Update
Houston's head coach, DeMeco Ryans, said the team still doesn't know when their starting running back will return. This is concerning news for fantasy managers, more so if he ends up missing Week 6. That would be his fourth consecutive game missed. So far, he's logged only one practice since his injury.
Houston still non-committal on Joe Mixon’s return.
Makes me wonder if 1) he had a setback last Friday when he was a LP, 2) if it was more than high ankle — deltoid lig, midfoot sprain.
If he misses Wk6, it’ll be his fourth game missed. https://t.co/Qcg6j8LdHL— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 7, 2024
It was already odd when Mixon practiced in limited fashion once before his Week 4 game before being declared "out" for the game, then didn't practice at all in Week 5. The injury may be more serious than initially thought. If the Texans were sure he would miss at least four games, it would've made sense to place him on injured reserve.
This situation is complicated, and fantasy managers may have to stick with their backup plans longer than expected. It'll be important for them to stay updated as well.
Joe Mixon Fantasy Football Outlook
Mixon is a must-start when he plays. He's still a lot better than the other options in Houston's backfield, since backup Dameon Pierce is a horrible scheme fit, Cam Akers hasn't played well and Dare Ogunbowale was a fourth stringer for a reason. Ogunbowale had 15 carries for 30 yards, but the six catches for 57 yards is pretty good.
I’m hoping we get to see what Dameon Pierce as an RB1 looks like with Mixon waiting to return until the GB game.
Slowik has ran more gap than zone running plays the last two weeks. Would imagine the ability to adapt to gap benefit Pierce. https://t.co/UybPcjd7yM
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) October 9, 2024
Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik slightly shifting the scheme to one that benefits Pierce is interesting, though. The team may want to get him more involved, which could come at the expense of Mixon.
28-year-old running backs getting 25+ touches a game for a full season isn't a good path to sustainability. Houston would be wise to limit Mixon to 20 touches per game max. Even if they did, Mixon would still be a good starter every week in fantasy football as his upside in this super-charged offense is simply too good to ignore.
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