Joe Mixon mystery might have reached NFL end after Bengals, Texans career

Joe Mixon mystery might have reached NFL end after Bengals, Texans career originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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What happened to Joe Mixon?

No one knows, still, after an entire missed season with the Houston Texans and with training camps getting underway around the NFL.

He was a star for Houston in 2024.

He didn’t play a single snap for the Texans in 2025.

And now? His NFL career might be over.

Aaron Wilson, who covers the Texans, said in a recent video stream that Mixon is telling his former Bengals teammates that his career is done.

Joe Mixon told former teammates from the Bengals “his career is over”, per @AaronWilson_NFLpic.twitter.com/V7uPZiYcjI

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) July 23, 2026

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If that’s really true, it’s going to be one of the most bizarre endings in NFL history.

Mixon didn’t pull an early retirement. 

He pretty much just vanished.

The assumption is that something happened, something that would cause a player to miss extended time. But to know whether that’s an injury, a personal circumstance or something else? There’s no way to tell.

The Texans were very vague all year, and it’s likely someone in the building knew the scoop, but whatever it was, Mixon didn’t come back from it.

And now, it’s sounding like he might never return to the field.

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