Preparing for his first training camp with the Texans, Joe Mixon is expecting big things from his new franchise.
After reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2019, the Houston Texans decided to go all-in. By trading for Joe Mixon, the Texans made a major upgrade at the running back position.
But Mixon wasn’t the only addition Houston made throughout the offseason. Playing on a roster stocked to the brim with talent, the running back sees the Texans as legit Super Bowl contenders, h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
“I’ve definitely been on a championship team before, and I know what it’s like,” Mixon said to reporters on Friday. “I know what it takes to get there. I feel like we have – no doubt – we have the best talent that I’ve seen here in a long time. I honestly feel like the team that we have here, I know that we’re ready to go and go for that long run.”
Alongside Mixon, the Texans went out and acquired Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Buffalo Bills. They’ll join Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz and Dameon Pierce as Houston’s premier offensive weapons. At the helm, all of them will be catching passes from CJ Stroud.
The quarterback broke onto the scene as a rookie, leading the Texans to 12th-best offense in the league, averaging 342.4. A year before they had the Rookie of the Year winner on their roster, Houston ranked 31st in total offense, averaging 283.5 YPG.
Now, Stroud will have Diggs and Joe Mixon at his disposal. While their run to the Divisional Round was impressive, the Texans are expecting much more. Mixon knows Houston has more than enough fire power to go on an even deeper run in Stroud’s sophomore season.
How Joe Mixon fits with Texans
Houston’s leading rusher from 2023 is no longer with the team, as Devin Singletary joined the New York Giants in free agency. Mixon will face some occasional competition from Dameon Pierce however. He ran for 416 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.
But the Texans traded for Mixon with a clear goal in mind. They gave him a three-year, $27 million contract extension to be a part of the team’s core for the foreseeable future. While he is two years removed from the lone Pro Bowl appearances of his career, Mixon is still a value weapon for the Texans
Over his seven years in the league, Mixon has ran for 6,412 yards and 49 touchdowns. He has added 2,139 yards and 13 touchdowns. For those claiming that the running back is falling off, Mixon is coming off of a season in which he ran for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns. He has 1,000+ rushing yards in all but one season in which he appeared in 10+ games.
With a newfound sense of winning, the Texans are committed to proving their team can compete for a title. Joe Mixon is a full believer and is ready to help take his team to new heights.