The Ravens officially placed rookie running back Keaton Mitchell on injured reserve on Dec. 19 after he suffered a serious knee injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars two days earlier. To replace Mitchell on the roster, they have promoted veteran running back Melvin Gordon from the practice squad.
To fill the subsequent practice squad opening, the Ravens have signed former Maryland running back Jake Funk, who was most recently on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.
The Ravens (11-3), who have won four in a row to claim the best record in the AFC, head to NFC front-runner San Francisco (11-3) this week for a highly anticipated Christmas night showdown.
Mitchell’s injury — which was reported to be a torn ACL, though head coach John Harbaugh would not get into specifics — abruptly ends what had been a dynamic debut season for the second-generation Raven.
Mitchell, signed as an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina, opened eyes in training camp and then brought speed and burst to the Ravens’ ground game in big doses.
Mitchell began the season on injured reserve after a training camp shoulder injury, but in his third career game, he ran nine times for 138 yards against Seattle, with a 60-yard run and a 40-yard touchdown. He finished his rookie season with 47 carries for 396 yards, averaging 8.4 yards a carry. He also caught nine passes for 93 yards, meaning he averaged 8.7 yards on every touch.
Mitchell had developed into the biggest complement to Lamar Jackson in the Ravens’ ground game, as the Ravens made good on a pledge Harbaugh made to get the rookie more involved after his torrid start. In the past three games, Mitchell either led the team in rushing or ranked second behind Jackson.
Harbaugh called Mitchell’s injury “a very heartbreaking loss.”
The Ravens revamped their offense this year and re-emphasized the passing attack with the addition of receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers and Nelson Agholor, but led by Jackson, and more recently Mitchell, the Ravens lead the league in rushing with 163.8 yards a game.
Jackson has a team-high 741 rushing yards and is on pace to lead the team in rushing for the fifth year in a row. Gus Edwards ranks second with 663.
With Mitchell out, the Ravens will again turn to Gordon, the veteran who signed with the team during training camp. With J.K. Dobbins (Achilles) out for the season and Mitchell on IR to begin the season, Gordon was elevated from the practice squad for three early-season games — the maximum number allowed under current practice squad rules.
He appeared in two of those games, with 13 carries for 53 yards. He also caught three passes for 46 yards.
Gordon, 30, was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2018 with the Chargers. He has more than 6,500 rushing yards in 110 career games, and Harbaugh called him a “high-pedigree football player in this league.”
“It’s almost kind of shocking that we’re going to have the opportunity to put him into the mix right now, and he’s been wanting to [get] into the mix,” Harbaugh said. “… He’s been practicing so hard and working so hard. Like he would say, ‘Hey, when the opportunity comes, I’ll be ready.'”
To give them another running back on the practice squad along with rookie Owen Wright, the Ravens signed Funk. The popular Terps player endured an injury-marred college career and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the final round of the 2021 draft.
Funk appeared in 15 games across two seasons with the Rams before being released. He had a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and then signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Funk played in four games for the Colts this year, with two carries for 10 yards, before being let go in October. He then was with the Dolphins’ practice squad for five weeks before being released last month.
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