JoeMixon

News: 9 hours agoMixon (ankle) didn't participate in practice Thursday, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Spin: The same goes for top backup Dameon Pierce (hamstring), with both players also having been DNPs on Wednesday. As a result, the duo's status for Sunday's game against the Vikings is cloudy, and in the event that both Mixon and Pierce are unavailable this weekend, Cam Akers would be in line to step into an expanded role, according to Wilson.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: After joining the Texans in March via trade, Mixon looks to bring his volume-driven, veteran appeal to an emergent Houston offense. While efficiency wasn't the hallmark of Mixon's final season with the Bengals, he did handle a massive workload en route to finishing sixth in total fantasy points among backs and ninth in per-game production in 2023. The Texans didn't pepper the backfield with many targets last season (28th in the league), but the team did rank 12th in both total carries and red zone totes allocated to backs. Without much competition for snaps, targets or touches present on the depth chart, Mixon is poised for another big role on a team flush with receiving weapons that could yield light opposing boxes.