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The Baltimore Ravens were able to secure their playoff berth in Week 15 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 23-7 victory, but it may have come at an enormous cost.
The Athletics’ Jeff Zrebiec tweeted, “[Head coach John] Harbaugh said Keaton Mitchell will miss rest of season with a “significant” knee injury.”
The Rookie breakout appeared to suffer the significant knee injury in the fourth quarter of the game. The Athletics’ Jeff Zrebiec tweeted, “Keaton Mitchell went straight from the blue tent to a cart and he’s getting taken back to locker room.”
The Ravens posted on X (formerly Twitter) almost immediately that, “RB Keaton Mitchell (knee) has been ruled out.”
Mitchell was tripped up from behind after getting the first down and appeared to come down awkwardly on his knee. The team was kneeling around Mitchell as he was being attended to, according to Zrebiec.
Mitchell was unable to put any weight down while he was helped off the field.
Sarah Ellison of “The Vault” podcast wrote, “Oh, c***. That looked bad. Keaton Mitchell ‘s knee bent the wrong way.”
Keaton Mitchell’s Breakout Season Ends With Knee Injury
The undrafted rookie’s injury sours a night in which the Ravens kept their grip on the No. 1 seed and clinched a playoff berth.
Mitchell was emerging as a star running back and appeared to have taken over the starting job the last few weeks. The rookie had out-touched fellow running back Gus Edwards in Week 12 and Week 14 and was on his way against the Jaguars.
Mitchell had 323 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns and 78 receiving yards in seven games this season.
He was on his way to a phenomenal game prior to the injury with 73 rushing yards, 2 catches, and 15 receiving yards at the start of the fourth. Mitchell brought an explosive ability to the Ravens with his ability to break long runs at any given moment.
The East Carolina product had a 20-yard run in every game that he has had a rush attempt in. His snap percentage had increased from the teens to 33-46% over Weeks 11-14.
Ravens Will Turn to Veteran Running Backs Rest of Season
Baltimore has employed an unofficial running back by committee for most of the 2023 season. The Ravens lost starter J.K. Dobbins Week 1 against the Houston Texans to a torn Achilles, sidelining him for the 2023 season.
They turned to veterans Edwards and Justice Hill to fill the hole that Dobbins left. They also tried to recapture some lightning in a bottle with Kenyan Drake, but that turned out poorly for both sides.
Mitchell joined the rotation in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks putting up 138 rushing yards and a touchdown. Edwards had the lion share of the touches and was the “starting” RB for the Ravens for most of the season.
Edwards is in his fifth season (all with the Ravens) and was having his own career year before the emergence of the rookie. Through 13 games this season he has 605 rushing yards, 130 receiving yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
During the game against the Jaguars, he added 58 rushing yards, 11 receiving yards and a touchdown. Edwards took over as the workhorse again once Mitchell left with the injury.
Furthermore, Hill will look to resume his role in the offense as well. Hill had been more of the pass-catching and explosive back before Mitchell appeared to take that role from him.
He will again need to step into that role with the loss of Mitchell for the rest of the season.
Ellison posted, “John Harbaugh said he’ll bring RB Melvin Gordon up from the practice squad to the 53-man rosters to help replace Keaton Mitchell.”
The Ravens close out the season with the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers. They will miss the explosiveness of Mitchell but still have the backs to carry them through.
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