By KRISTIE RIEKEN<\/p>\n
HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Joe Mixon\u2019s status for next season remains uncertain after the Houston Texans running back missed all season with what general manager Nick Caserio called a \u201cfreak\u201d foot injury Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen Joe in a little bit, so I think at some point we\u2019ll see him and then we\u2019ll be able to evaluate kind of where he is and then based on information, we\u2019ll see where his status is,\u201d Caserio said.<\/p>\n
The Texans provided few details on the 29-year-old Mixon\u2019s recovery throughout the season after announcing in training camp that the former star at Freedom High in Oakley sustained a foot injury away from the facility in the offseason.<\/p>\n
Asked for details about his injury Wednesday, Caserio gave a bit more information but still didn\u2019t specify exactly what the injury was.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t like he was riding a snowmobile or anything like that,\u201d Caserio said. \u201cIt was more of a medical condition or situation that never\u2026 really didn\u2019t improve maybe as much as everybody would have hoped. I\u2019m not trying to evade the question, that\u2019s the reality of the situation. He didn\u2019t jump off a building. He wasn\u2019t cliff diving or anything. He wasn\u2019t doing anything irresponsible. It was just a freak thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texans reached the divisional round of the playoffs for a third straight season, but their offense took a major hit with Mixon out all season with the injury. It came after he ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with the team in 2024. He has one year remaining on a three-year, $27 million contract extension he signed after joining the Texans following seven years with the Bengals.<\/p>\n
Caserio said they weren\u2019t sure of his status throughout the season but held out hope that he could return at some point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very unique situation,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody really had any clarity, honestly, from the start of the year until now. I\u2019d say Joe worked very, very hard to try to get himself ready to play football, it just never manifested itself, came to fruition. So probably have an opportunity to kind of see where he is in the offseason relative to next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Mixon out this season, the Texans relied on rookie Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. Marks, a fourth-round pick, led the team with 703 yards rushing and Chubb added 506 yards. The Texans struggled to run the ball in their loss to New England<\/a> last week, managing just 48 yards rushing.<\/p>\n When asked specifically if they believe Mixon\u2019s condition will improve enough for him to be ready for the start of training camp, Caserio said it\u2019s too soon to tell.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see. Believe me, I\u2019m not smart enough to be a doctor so I\u2019m going to leave that up to the medical experts,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce we\u2026 get a little bit more clarity, more information, we\u2019ll kind of see where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n