The Houston Texans are fresh off their third-straight playoff appearance, but after an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots, it was clear changes needed to be made this offseason. Sure enough, the front office has been hard at work, with the hope being the Texans can take another step forward in 2026.
One spot where Houston has switched things up quite a bit is the running back position, as the team picked up David Montgomery in a trade with the Detroit Lions. With Montgomery coming to town, though, that resulted in the Texans deciding to move on from Joe Mixon, and now that he has been released, he reportedly has a grim outlook when it comes to his career in the NFL.
Joe Mixon Believes NFL Career is Over After Texans Release
After spending the first eight years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, Mixon was picked up in a trade by the Texans to come in and be their lead running back. Mixon promptly put together one of the best seasons of his career, as he racked up 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns on 245 carries, while also catching 36 passes for 309 yards and another score, with that production earning him the second Pro Bowl selection of his career.
In 2025, Mixon didn’t suit up at all for Houston, though, as he suffered a leg injury that forced him to miss the entire year. The posturing of Mixon’s absence has been mysterious to say the least, as reporting has made it seem like something else happened behind the scenes that led to his season-long absence, but details have been hard to come by.
With Mixon’s future unknown, the Texans decided to release him after acquiring Montgomery, and he’s remained a free agent ever since then. While a team could conceivably scoop up Mixon once training camp gets underway, rumors have emerged indicating that he believes his career in the NFL is over.
“Joe Mixon has told former Bengals teammates that he believes his NFL career is over,” NFL insider Arye Pulli reported in a post on X. “In the words of one source to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, there is ‘some hope,’ but Mixon’s career is more likely than not to be over.”
Texans’ Joe Mixon Situation Remains a Mystery
GettyJoe Mixon’s exit from the Houston Texans remains shrouded in mystery.
You never want to speculate when discussing these sorts of sensitive situations, but Mixon’s fall from a Pro Bowl-caliber running back to a guy who can’t find a home with any of the league’s 32 teams is quite confusing. Maybe his leg injury truly is career-ending, but whispers continue to percolate suggesting that something deeper is going on here.
Regardless, Mixon is no longer the Texans’ problem, and they will enter the upcoming campaign with a promising running back duo of Montgomery and Woody Marks. Establishing the ground game will help open things up for C.J. Stroud and company on offense moving forward, so it’s clear that all eyes are going to be on Houston’s new-look running back room entering the new season.
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