Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or J.K. Dobbins

Monday, December 29, 1:56 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot, ankle) will not return this season, league sources told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. The expectation all along has been that Mixon would not return at all in 2025, but now it's official. The Texans haven't released many details on the nature of Mixon's foot/ankle injury, but we know that he hasn't played since back in the spring. The 29-year-old remains on the Non-Football Injury list. At this point, it's fair to wonder if he'll be effective at all if he's able to make it back and play in 2026. The Texans will continue to move forward with rookie Woody Marks as their primary ball-carrier, with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Jawhar Jordan backing him up heading into the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Indianapolis Colts.

Friday, January 9, 1:23 PM

Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (foot), who landed on Injured Reserve in mid-November after having surgery to fix a Lisfranc foot injury, could be an option to return to the team if they advance to the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, according to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. Dobbins was well on his way to a career year in 2025 in his first year in Denver before the injury, as he had 772 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 153 carries over 10 games. He was fifth in the league in rushing at the time of his Week 10 injury, and the Broncos ranked eighth in yards per carry from RBs (4.8) and 10th in RB yards per game (101.2). Denver has gone 6-1 without Dobbins, but they averaged only 3.8 yards per carry in the final seven games, ranking 23rd in the NFL. Their 79.1 RB yards per game ranked 24th. Getting Dobbins back for a potential Super Bowl matchup would be huge for Denver's offense, but a lot has to go right still for that to be on the table for Dobbins and the Broncos.