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Throughout all of last season, Houston Texans fans were left in the dark about what might be going on with their veteran running back, Joe Mixon.
Mixon had suffered a foot injury that lingered from the start of the Texans' offseason program all the way through the year, left him unable to return at any point in the 2025 season, and without clarity on what might be next for his health and when he might be back to 100%, led to him being cut at the start of the 2026 offseason.
And in the months since his release from Houston, many have speculated whether or not Mixon will be healthy for the 2026 campaign, or whether or not he's even back to full health.
In reality, there's a good chance that Mixon might've played his last snap in the NFL.
The Latest on Joe Mixon's Injury Situation, NFL Future NFL insider Aaron Wilson from KPRC2 recently spoke about Mixon's playing status on a recent live stream, where he noted that the veteran running back's time in the NFL might've come to a close, based on rumblings he's heard around the league.
"[Joe Mixon] has told former teammates from the Bengals that his career is over," Wilson said.
"I had a source close to Joe tell me recently there's some hope, but I think it's probably over.
The good news is that Joe is healthier.
He had surgery this offseason..
A really unfortunate situation." As to what Wilson believes happened within Mixon's mysterious injury to inevitably get to this point, the rumor he's heard revolves around the running back potentially dropping a weight on his foot.
Mixon appears to have initially suffered the injury in the offseason, went to get treatment somewhere outside of the team, and that led to an extensive and unsuccessful recovery process.
"I believe one rumor I've heard a lot of times..
he may have dropped a weight on his foot, and then he got treatment on his own, and it did not get better," Wilson continued.
"It got worse.
It got aggravated.
Just a very unfortunate situation." Is Joe Mixon's Time In the NFL Officially Over? If it really is the end of Mixon's career in the NFL, it's certainly an unceremonious and unfortunate end to what's been a really successful eight years pro when he's been on the field.
Most of Mixon's time was spent with the Cincinnati Bengals for seven years before he would join the Texans for the 2024 season.
He had played in just 14 games, but still logged over 1,000 rushing yards on the year for the fifth time of his career, pairing that with 309 yards receiving and 12 total touchdowns.
Mixon headlining the Texans' running back room allowed him to lead Houston to a modest rushing attack when stacked up against the NFL, finishing as the 15th-best rushing offense in terms of total yards gained (1,909), and 15th in total touchdowns (15) in 2024.
Since the Texans have been without their Pro Bowler in the backfield, they've been looking for ways to try and reclaim that effectiveness in the run game.
Last year, Houston rolled out a combination of Woody Marks and Nick Chubb, who didn't quite fill that void as necessary, then opted to trade for David Montgomery this offseason to try and alleviate those woes in the ground game.
Maybe Mixon will be able to spend a bit more time rehabbing and recovering from that lingering foot issue that's kept him off to the side since the end of the 2024 season, and he'll find a new opportunity elsewhere in the next one or two seasons.
But when reading the tea leaves of the situation, things certainly don't look too optimistic for Mixon's return to be anywhere near the horizon.