Keaton Mitchell’s rookie season very likely came to a close on Sunday.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after his team’s 23-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that Mitchell "looks" like he will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury.
"Keaton [Mitchell’s injury] is going to be a serious injury — knee injury — so it looks like he won’t be back for the rest of the season," Harbaugh said.
"... It’s heartbreaking. [Keaton Mitchell] is a guy that, I was just in [the locker room]. We were just in there, and we were talking, and we prayed, and he just has a great attitude and demeanor about him. It's a guy that you want to see well. He deserves to do well."
Mitchell suffered the knee injury during the fourth quarter of Baltimore's win over Jacksonville. The rookie running back was tripped up from behind by Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard on his 13-yard run.
Mitchell was helped off the field by Ravens staffers after the play, and he subsequently went into the medical tent. He was later carted to the locker room, and he did not return to the field. The former East Carolina standout finished with 73 rushing yards on an 8.1 yards per rush attempt average against the Jaguars.
Mitchell’s rookie campaign likely comes to an end just as he was seeing an increase in snaps played on offense. Overall, he recorded at least 60 yards from scrimmage in the Ravens’ last three games, including 88 such yards against the Jaguars.
With the Ravens expected to soon place Mitchell on the injured reserve list, Harbaugh confirmed during his postgame press conference that the team will elevate Melvin Gordon from the practice squad.
"We’ll bring Melvin up," Harbaugh said. "He's been working super hard, he’s in great shape, and he will be ready to go."
The Ravens will continue to call on Gus Edwards to lead their ground game. He has anchored a Ravens rush offense that leads the NFL in rushing yards per game with a 163.8 average.
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