Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Michael Carter

Wednesday, January 21, 12:19 PM

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said on Wednesday that running back Joe Mixon (foot, ankle) had a medical condition that never improved, according to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle. "He didn't jump off a building. He wasn't doing anything irresponsible. It was a freak thing," Caserio said. The Texans were extremely vague with Mixon's injury all year, and he never ended up playing in 2025. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said on Monday that Mixon's status for the 2026 season is also uncertain due to his injury. Unexpectedly, the Texans struggled for consistent production out of their backfield with a mix of veteran Nick Chubb and Woody Marks. Marks took over halfway through the year and should be heavily involved again next season, even if Mixon returns. Needless to say, a lot of fantasy managers won't want anything to do with Mixon in 2026.

Saturday, January 3, 1:41 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter has operated as the starter for the last two weeks, but has delivered disappointing results, scoring just 6.5 and 6.3 PPR points. With Bam Knight (ankle) going down for the season in Week 15, Carter was expected to handle the lion's share of the work in Arizona's backfield. However, he's played just 49.1% of the snaps and handled 20 touches, with Emari Demercado mixing in with a 40.9% snap share and 12 touches. Arizona's offense hasn't been as exciting in recent weeks with Jacoby Brissett under center, and now they head on the road to face a Rams team that they scored just 17 points against back in Week 14. Carter projects as a decent RB3 option for the regular season finale.