Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Travis Etienne Jr.

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.

Thursday, November 20, 1:15 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (shoulder) was wearing a non-contact jersey at Thursday's practice, per Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union. It looks like Etienne will be listed as a limited participant in practice for the second straight day after injuring his shoulder in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten (ankle) also hurt his ankle in Week 11 and was limited on Wednesday, but he wasn't in a non-contact jersey on Thursday. Etienne was productive on Sunday with two touchdowns in a blowout win over the Chargers in which the Jags leaned heavily on the ground game, but Tuten also saw his biggest workload of the year and scored a rushing touchdown. Both RBs could be active this weekend in Arizona, but if Etienne is less than 100%, Tuten could be the favored option out of Jacksonville's backfield in Week 12.