The Houston Texans could get Joe Mixon back on Sunday for their game against the New England Patriots, the first time he will play since suffering an ankle injury in Week 2.
The play that injured Mixon is something that was still on the running back’s mind when he returned to practice Thursday with the Texans.
Mixon was tackled by Chicago Bears linebacker TJ Edwards with a hip-drop tackle, something the NFL banned this offseason and was going to firmly enforce during the season. Edwards was not penalized in the game for the tackle and was only fined $16,833 by the NFL.
After the match, Mixon took to social media to express his opinion on Edwards missing a penalty.
When I got up I asked the referee where the flag was that it was a hip tackle. and his answer was no, it wasn’t https://t.co/A5fWjguzGH
— Primetime!!! (@Joe_MainMixon) September 16, 2024
Mixon stayed on topic last week, pointing to the NFLPA while responding to union’s X account when he released a statement about the recent debate over media access. “Player safety is what matters and should be the focus, not media access,” he wrote.
Meeting with reporters Thursday, Mixon was still hot.
“I was the number one leader in the race. I was stopped because of that weak entry with a dropped hip.” mixon said. “I can’t do anything about it. It’s frustrating, it is what it is. I want to be there more than anyone.”
One part of how NFL fines are doled out that really bothered Mixon is in situations where a player was trying to protect himself (by lowering his helmet when he was about to be tackled) which led to more costly penalties for those players and not for those making tackles that could injure opponents.
“There are guys here protecting themselves from punches and they are getting fines of $45,000 and $50,000,” Mixon said. “And for an illegal hip-drop tackle, they get fined $16,000 when it’s supposed to be an emphasis, it’s supposed to be taken out of the game. So obviously the priorities are not right with what’s going on. It’s frustrating to see “But it is what it is. If we’re going to talk about playing the game the right way, we have to have integrity in the game.”
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs and Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet were fined $45,020 (more than one infraction) and Mixons’ teammate Nico Collins was deducted $22,511 for “unnecessary roughness (helmet use)” in recent weeks.
Mixon’s participation in practice on Thursday is a good sign of his availability for Week 6. He said he will participate in practice on Friday and then make a decision on whether he will play on Sunday.
