Joe Mixon hasn’t carried the ball in an NFL game since January 2025, and the Seattle Seahawks are about to find out how much he has left. The free agent running back is working out for the Seahawks Monday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That comes a day after Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported the defending champions were bringing the two-time Pro Bowler in for a visit.
The timing is easy to explain. Seattle put first-round rookie Jadarian Price on injured reserve Saturday after he re-aggravated a chest injury, and that move keeps him out for at least four games.
What the Seahawks need to see from Joe Mixon
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Mixon was productive the last time he was healthy. He ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games for the Houston Texans in 2024 and made his second Pro Bowl. A foot injury he suffered that offseason then kept him on the non-football injury list for all of 2025, and the Texans released him in March. He turned 30 in July, so Seattle’s medical staff will have as much say here as its coaches. Mixon made his own case Saturday in a workout video that closed with him saying, “I’m back, baby!”
There is a real need behind the look. Emanuel Wilson took 21 of the 28 carries that went to Seattle’s running backs in Sunday’s 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, finishing with 81 yards and a touchdown on the ground and another score as a receiver. George Holani, who dealt with a rib injury during the week, had 18 yards on seven attempts. Velus Jones Jr. was signed off the practice squad to take Price’s roster spot.
Help is also on the way from inside the building, though it may take a while. Zach Charbonnet returned to practice last week after tearing his ACL in January, which opened a 21-day window for the Seahawks to activate him. The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta wrote that Charbonnet realistically may not play for a few more weeks.
That leaves Wilson as the only healthy back on the 53-man roster who has handled a full workload this season, with the San Francisco 49ers up next on Oct. 11 and a Thursday night game against the Denver Broncos four days later. Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl MVP, signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in March, and the 3-1 Seahawks have been patching the position ever since.
