Keaton Mitchell, a native of East Carolina, was a terrific rookie for the Baltimore Ravens, but his incredible NFL rookie season ended too soon. In the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 23-7 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday Night Football, Mitchell went down awkwardly. With green grass in front of him, he launched into what looked to be a tremendous run on the right side, but his left knee gave way and Mitchell fell in a heap.
Colleagues helped the quick running back off the field and hauled him off. “It looks like he won’t be back for the rest of this season,” head coach John Harbaugh stated following the game. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport verified that Mitchell had torn his ACL, although he should heal fully in due course.
After the game, Harbaugh commented, “It’s heartbreaking.” He simply exudes a positive attitude and manner, and he seems like a guy who wants to succeed. He is worthy of success.”
Before suffering the injury on Sunday night, the former Pirate ran nine times for 73 yards and caught two catches for 15 yards. Given how horrifying it was that Mitchell’s leg bent the wrong way, the NBC broadcast did not rerun the incident. The Jaguars, who also have experienced wide receiver Zay Jones, a former ECU player, were the team the Ravens were playing against. Jones had 59 yards and five receptions for the Jaguars before being forced to leave the game due to injury.
Mitchell had emerged as a rookie revelation for the Ravens, giving their backfield some much-needed game-breaking capability. During his eight games of action, he averaged 8.4 yards per carry while rushing for 396 yards and two touchdowns. Mitchell ran for two touchdowns on the ground and completed a 60-yard run.
For Mitchell, the goal is that his injury doesn’t completely ruin his promising future as an undrafted free agent who has had a solid start. Before returning in the middle of the season, he had to overcome a shoulder injury and prove himself throughout the preseason in order to secure a position on the 53-man roster.
Mitchell averaged 6.5 yards per carry while rushing for 3,027 yards in his three years at East Carolina. In 2021 and 2022, Mitchell recorded consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In 2022, he had his greatest season with 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns from rushing, topping the FBS with 54 rushes of more over 10 yards.
Mitchell, who was a three-star prospect out of Eagles Landing Christian Academy, initially committed to ECU as a member of the 2020 recruiting class.
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Baltimore, at 10-3, is in a position to be the top seed in the American Football Conference. The Dolphins are behind the Ravens by one game, and the Chiefs are behind them by two.
