If a running back is a quarterback’s best friend, Houston’s C.J. Stroud is in good spirits today. That’s because Joe Mixon returned to team drills, per Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle. Alexander added that Mixon opened those team drills with a pair of solid runs and looked healthy.
That’s a good sign because Mixon missed last week’s preseason contest at Pittsburgh, after head coach DeMeco Ryans initially said the running back would play. Ryans then changed his mind and opted to rest Mixon, acquired from Cincinnati in a March trade.
A quadricep injury kept Mixon out of practice for more than two weeks of training camp but he returned Aug. 11.
Since the beginning of 2021, when Mixon helped the Bengals to a Super Bowl berth, he ranks fifth in the NFL with 3,053 yards. Stroud earned the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2023.