The audition was enough. The Seattle Seahawks are signing the veteran running back who worked out for them Monday, with NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reporting that Joe Mixon has a deal coming out of the afternoon session. Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz added that Mixon will wear No. 25.
Seattle needed a body in that room. Rookie Jadarian Price is on injured reserve with a chest injury, and head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that Zach Charbonnet won’t play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
What Joe Mixon brings to the Seahawks
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Start with volume. Mixon has five 1,000-yard seasons and 60 career rushing touchdowns, and he was still a lead back the last time he played. He averaged 17.5 carries over 14 games for the Houston Texans in 2024 and finished with 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke wrote last year that Mixon’s rushing grade generally landed between 74.0 and 82.0 each season, which is the profile of a steady starter.
He can catch it, too. Mixon had 283 receptions for 2,139 yards and 13 touchdowns in seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Jahnke noted his PFF receiving grade ranked eighth among 42 running backs with at least 500 routes over the previous three seasons. The same piece described him as a two-down back, though, because both the Bengals and Texans used other players on third downs.
That fits what the 3-1 Seahawks are missing. Emanuel Wilson ran 21 times for 81 yards in Sunday’s 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, George Holani was the only other running back to get a carry and Price did not score on 28 attempts before he got hurt. A back with Mixon’s goal-line history gives offensive coordinator Brian Fleury another option on early downs and near the end zone while Charbonnet works back from a torn ACL.
Mixon is 30, he sat out all of last season with a foot injury and he has not played since January 2025. The Texans released him in March. Contract terms have not been reported, and nobody has said whether he will be ready for the 49ers or for the Thursday night trip to Denver four days later.
