Texans General Manager Nick Caserio was asked this week about running back Joe Mixon’s potential return to action and said that there’s “a lot of ambiguity” about the veteran’s outlook due to the foot injury that’s kept him off the field all season.
That was not a promising update and Thursday brings an even less promising one. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Mixon is not expected to rejoin the team.
Mixon has spent the entire season on the non-football injury list because he suffered the injury while away from the team and there’s been little detail about either the circumstances or the specific nature of the issue.
Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks have been the top backs for the Texans in his absence and it looks like that will remain the case for the long haul.
Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman is likely to be inactive for the second consecutive game on Thursday night.
Coleman is expected to sit tomorrow against the Texans, according to Erik Turner of Cover 1, who first reported that Coleman would be a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
It hasn’t been fully explained why Coleman has fallen out of favor in Buffalo, but Coleman acknowledged afterward that he needs to do better, and coach Sean McDermott said he needs to see Coleman show growth to get back on the field.
Until Sunday’s benching, Coleman was the Bills’ No. 2 receiver, but the Bills’ offense didn’t appear to miss him, as Josh Allen had a big game without Coleman in Sunday’s 44-32 win over the Buccaneers.
On Thursday night against the Texans, the Bills are likely to go with Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore, Tyrell Shavers, Khalil Shakir and Gabe Davis as their active wide receivers.
Linebacker Damone Clark was cut by the Cowboys on Tuesday, but he won’t have to leave Texas to continue his NFL career.
The NFL’s daily transaction report shows that the Texans claimed Clark off of waivers on Wednesday. They waived kicker Matthew Wright in a corresponding move.
Clark was a 2022 fifth-round pick by Dallas and he appeared in 49 regular season games for the team. He had 14 tackles in eight appearances this season and had 198 tackles over his entire run with the Cowboys.
Wright went 4-of-4 on field goals for the Texans over the last two weeks, but Ka’imi Fairbairn is set to return from a quad injury on Thursday night.
The Texans won’t have C.J. Stroud on Thursday night, but they will have their top wide receiver.
Nico Collins (ankle) does not have an injury designation for Houston’s home game against the Bills. Collins was listed as limited participant on Wednesday, but got a full listing the last two days.
Defensive end Will Anderson (ankle) was also limited early in the week, but he was back to full participant status on Wednesday and joins Collins in the team’s plans for Buffalo.
Safety Jalen Pitre (concussion) and linebacker Jamal Hill (hamstring) were ruled out along with Stroud. Davis Mills will make his third straight start at quarterback for the Texans.
No other Texans players have injury designations for Thursday night.
Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir was listed as out of practice again on Wednesday, but he’s set to play against the Texans on Thursday night.
Shakir’s wife gave birth earlier this week and Shakir has missed the team’s practice sessions to be with his family. He has no injury designation for the game.
The Bills will be down two wideouts after head coach Sean McDermott ruled out Curtis Samuel (elbow, neck) and Mecole Hardman (calf) earlier in the day. McDermott also said that tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) will be out for the second straight game.
Defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis (shoulder) was a limited participant in practice for the second straight day and will carry a questionable designation into Thursday.
