Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Chuba Hubbard

Thursday, November 20, 12:34 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) is not expected to play this season as he deals with a foot injury from the offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mixon will likely stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list through the end of the 2025 season, while the Texans move forward with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks in their backfield. Things had been trending this way for a while, as the Texans haven't been giving any real updates on Mixon for pretty much the entire season. Fantasy managers who are still stashing the 29-year-old in redraft leagues should send him to the waiver wire now. Mixon's injury dates all the way back to spring workouts. One would think he'd be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign, but there has been little information about the exact nature of his injury. Marks, a fourth-rounder in April, has slowly started to see more work and should be the backfield leader over Chubb by the end of the year.

Friday, December 12, 1:21 PM

After starting the season as his team's RB1, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard lost his job in the middle of the 2025 season to the emergent Rico Dowdle. Across a four-game stretch from Week 9 through Week 12, Hubbard failed to earn more than seven touches in any game. However, in Carolina's final game before its Week 14 bye, Hubbard went off for 124 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 19 touches against the Los Angeles Rams. While Dowdle still earned more touches against Los Angeles (20), Hubbard out-gained him by nearly 50 yards. Coming out of its bye, Carolina may continue to lessen the workload discrepancy between its two main backs. Even in a reduced role, Hubbard has still been productive this season, recording 627 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns across 11 games. Hubbard has flex appeal in Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints and could continue trending upwards over the final stretch of the season.