Less than 24 hours after reports had Joe Mixon joining the Seattle Seahawks, the deal is off. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that Seattle decided not to sign the veteran running back to its practice squad after he underwent a physical for the team. Mixon, who worked out for the Seahawks on Monday, will remain a free agent.
Head coach Mike Macdonald never called it done. He said Monday that Mixon was “going through the process right now” and that “it would be for the practice squad,” wording that ESPN’s Brady Henderson described Tuesday as telling in hindsight.
Where the Seahawks’ backfield stands without Joe Mixon
Schefter’s report did not say what the physical showed, and the team has not commented. What is known is the history. Mixon is 30 and has not played since January 2025. He ran for 1,016 yards and made the Pro Bowl with the Houston Texans in 2024, then missed all of last season with a foot injury the team never fully explained. Houston released him in March.
Seattle still has the problem that prompted the look. “We’re down runners. We need running backs,” Macdonald said Monday, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. Rookie Jadarian Price is on injured reserve with a chest injury and has to miss at least three more games. Zach Charbonnet is practicing again after tearing his ACL in January, but Macdonald has already ruled him out for Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
That puts the workload back on Emanuel Wilson, who ran 21 times for 81 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Wilson has a 60.6 rushing grade through four games, according to PFF, ahead of George Holani at 54.1 and Price at 51.9. Holani’s pass-blocking grade is 13.4 on 20 snaps in protection, which limits how much Seattle can lean on him on passing downs.
The Seahawks did make one addition that stuck. Henderson reported they are signing Robert Henry Jr., an undrafted rookie from UTSA, off the Washington Commanders’ practice squad and onto the 53-man roster. He joins Wilson, Holani and Velus Jones Jr. in a group that has a Thursday night trip to Denver four days after the 49ers game.
