Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell ruled out after suffering knee injury
The Baltimore Ravens suffered a brutal injury to their backfield in Sunday Night Football against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the fourth quarter, running back Keaton Mitchell was carted off with medical staff after he suffered what appeared to be a knee injury to his left knee. The Baltimore Ravens Twitter page officially ruled him out of Sunday night football with a knee injury. It didn’t look good at all.
NBC’s Melissa Stark also updated his official status later in the fourth quarter. “Running back Keaton Mitchell. We saw him carted off a few minutes ago. He went straight to the X-ray room, putting no weight on that left leg. He is officially out with a knee injury.” Stark said.
Mitchell has been one of the surprise rookie running backs of the 2023 NFL season. He burst onto the scene against the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 5th–when he exploded for 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on just nine carries. Despite only playing in six games and receiving limited touches (38 carries), Mitchell gained 323 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The Ravens defeated the Jaguars 23-7 on Sunday Night Football. The Baltimore Ravens overall record improved to 11-3, putting them in first place of the AFC. They also officially clinched a playoff spot.
Soon after the game ended, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh confirmed what many had feared when Mitchell went down. His season is officially done and the knee injury he suffered is expected to be season-ending.
Mitchell turned heads at the 2023 NFL Combine, when he was clocked at a blistering 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That ranked him among the Top 25 40-yard dash times, putting him in a tie for 11th place.
Keaton Mitchell had a dominant career with the ECU Pirates
Keaton Mitchell finished his career with the ECU Pirates as one of the greatest running backs ever to suit up in Greenville. Once he hung up his cleats there, he was the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards per game (91.7) and rushing yards per carry (6.54). Mitchell also set the program record for consecutive 100-yard games (seven in 2022). He currently ranks third all-time in ECU football history with 3,027 total rushing yards.
Mitchell became the first Pirates running back since Tay Cooper (2012-2013) to rush for 1,000-plus yards in consecutive seasons.
Coming out of Eagles Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Georgia), Mitchell was rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 1,796 overall player in America, according to the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2020 cycle.
He played a critical role in guiding Eagles Landing Christian to four straight Georgia Class A Private championships and a 54-2 overall record during his career. During his junior and senior seasons, he rushed for a combined 4,347 yards (155.3 yards per game) and 88 touchdowns.