2023 UDFA Signs Deal with the Chargers
After a rollercoaster that was the first three years of his career, former Baltimore Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell signed a two-year deal worth 9.25 million dollars. Baltimore declined to tender him at 3.25 million, so the 2023 undrafted free agent looked elsewhere. Mitchell was originally signed to act as a depth, change-of-pace back behind Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Justice Hill, but found shined during a few garbage time games in the 2023 season. A gruesome knee injury would hold Mitchell out of the second half of 2023 and most of 2024, but Mitchell returned in 2025 as a preseason favorite, earning a spot in the Ravens RB room behind Derrick Henry and Hill, and as a starting kick returner. Now in Los Angeles, Mitchell will have to fight for playing time behind Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal.
The McDonough, Georgia native is the son of former Raven and Super Bowl XXXV Champion Anthony Mitchell, who was also an undrafted free agent to Baltimore. His mother, Kandice, who is also an athlete, played for the United States women's national American football team during the 2017 IFAF Women's World Championship. Mitchell spent his entire three-year college career at East Carolina and was projected to at least be drafted in the standard seven-round NFL draft in 2023. The two-time first-team All-AAC RB was selected in the fourth round of the USFL draft by the New Orleans Breakers. Just a few months later, Mitchell would sign an undrafted free agent tender with the Baltimore Ravens, which is typically a three-year deal rather than the normal four-year deal signed by drafted players. Pro Football Focus listed Mitchell as one of the ten best undrafted free agent signings from the 2023 NFL Draft class.
In his rookie year, Mitchell started on injured reserve, but was activated in October, playing mostly on special teams. In Week Nine, Mitchell would get his first NFL regular-season carries in garbage time against the Seahawks with nine carries for 138 yards, capped by a 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter and a 60-yard run in the fourth. Mitchell would record at least eight carries in four of the next five games before suffering a gruesome knee injury that would end his rookie season. Mitchell said in an interview with the Ravens media team in the 2025 offseason, “Everybody thinks it was the ACL, it was my ACL, LCL, PCL, hamstring… eventually I knew I was going to get back to myself, and now I’m back.” Mitchell finished his rookie season with 47 carries for 396 yards and two touchdowns, averaging more than eight yards per carry in his six games that featured him as a ball carrier.
In 2024, Mitchell would not be activated off of IR until Week 10, only returning four kicks in three games. Mitchell would be inactive for the following three games before being back in uniform for the Christmas Day matchup against the Texans. Mitchell would have 30 yards on 15 carries for no touchdowns in the final two games of 2024, clearly struggling, making him a fringe roster bubble player. The elusive and speedy back came back stronger in 2025, showing a lot of promise in the 2025 preseason, but there was a noticeable dip in his speed and willingness to make hard cuts. Mitchell tweaked his hamstring, holding him out of the first few games of the 2025 season. He would post 341 yards on 59 carries and a single touchdown, but had more playing time as a kick returner. When Mitchell returned kicks, he was able to turn the corner and put the Ravens’ offense in great field position. Mitchell tweaked his knee down the stretch of the disappointing Ravens’ season, so it will be something to keep an eye on now that he has signed with the Chargers.
