When healthy, Keaton Mitchell has shown that he's one the NFL's fastest players. However, time couldn't move quickly enough when he spent months rehabbing from knee surgery.
"Learning how to walk again … it was a long process," Mitchell said. "Everybody comes up to me and says that it went by fast. To me, it didn't go by fast. It seemed like it took forever. It was a grind every day."
The hard work paid off. Less than a year after tearing his ACL on Dec. 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mitchell feels ready to add even more firepower to the Ravens' backfield.
He made his 2024 debut with a 30-yard kickoff return against the Cincinnati Bengals during Baltimore's 35-34 victory in Week 10. Now that he's gotten his feet wet, Mitchell feels ready to make a splash.
His return adds another explosive weapon to Baltimore's league-leading offense heading into Sunday's AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mitchell has the explosiveness to make game-changing plays and the healthier he gets, the more his role could grow in the running back rotation behind Derrick Henry and Justice Hill.
"Keaton is a really good football player," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "I like the ball in his hands, so we had him back there in kickoff return. I'm sure he'll be on some other phases, but we'll start working him into the offense as well.
"I do see a little bit of a three-headed monster there, potentially. We'll see where that goes over the next course of games, and hopefully, that's something that can start to develop."
Mitchell can add more special sauce to what the Ravens have cooking. He made a major impact as an undrafted rookie in 2023, averaging 8.4 yards per carry with 396 yards and two touchdowns in eight games after being activated in October.
Mitchell announced himself to the NFL with a138-yard game against the Seattle Seahawks, which included a 60-yard run that displayed his vision and ability to shed tacklers.
Henry leads the NFL in rushing and Hill is having his best season, so there's no need for Mitchell to carry a heavy workload. However, Mitchell is used to making the most of his touches and looks forward to joining the offensive mix in any way.
"Them boys are already warmed up and going," Mitchell said. "I'm just going to warm up by kick return or whatever touches I get. They're doing a great job with the duo right now. But once I get going, us three is going to be a dangerous backfield."
Mitchell entered the league with a mature approach, absorbing knowledge passed down by his father, Anthony Mitchell, a former Ravens defensive back who was a member of the franchise's first Super Bowl winning team.
While Keaton was disappointed by his knee injury, he refused to be devastated. Hill, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in 2021, saw how hard he was rehabbing and never felt the need to keep his young teammate's spirits up.
"You see some guys get injured, it beats them up, it seems like it's the end of the world," Hill said. "He was never like that, so I never had to tell him he'd be back to normal. He already had that mindset. I'd check in on him during the process, make sure everything was good, but he was self-motivated.
"When I was injured, I just thought I was going to be better when I came back. If you think that way, it helps. The body responds to how your mind thinks. I feel our running back room is the best in the league, because we have backs who can do everything. The offense is already explosive, but he'll help us build on that."
Mitchell was asked if his full speed had returned, and he said he had been clocked even faster during strength and conditioning work.
"For sure – I've hit faster than what I hit last year," Mitchell said. "Now that I got that, it's time to get the football portion of my ability back."
Mitchell is soaking up every aspect of his return, the practices, meetings, and comradery with teammates that he sorely missed. Suffering a serious injury so early in his career was an experience Mitchell didn't plan for, but he dealt with it. Now he's looking ahead, ready to add more pop to Baltimore's offense like he has done before.
Mitchell didn't face the Steelers as a rookie last season. His career debut was the week after Baltimore went to Pittsburgh and he suffered his knee injury three weeks before the rematch in the regular-season finale. On Sunday, he'll get his first taste of a game his father has surely told him all about.
"I had the game taken away from me for 10 months," Mitchell said. "Whenever I get out there, I'll just be blessed and make something happen. I just have to be patient, take advantage of every opportunity that I get, and hopefully I can get going fast."
