The team could be without the integral veteran in Week 17 but believe Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali can step up.
After ripping off his second-longest run of the season on a 25-yard scamper in the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Baltimore Ravens veteran running back Justice Hill suffered a concussion. He temporarily lost consciousness after his head bounced off the ground while being tackled out of bounds and even though he was able to get to his feet and walk off the field, he was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Four-time Pro Bowl starter Derrick Henry called it a “scary moment” in a postgame locker room interview. Given that the team has to play again on Christmas off a quick turnaround, the likelihood that Hill will clear the protocol in time to suit up against the Houston Texans in Week 17 is low.
Hill is an integral piece of the Ravens’ offense as their go-to running back in obvious passing situations such as long down-and-distances and in the final two minutes of either half when they need to score quickly. He is their best pass catcher and protector at the position and is a factor on special teams as well as a kick returner. Hill leads all players on the team in kick return yards (183), yards per kick return (36.6) and his career-high 383 receiving yards are the fifth-most on the team—more than twice as many as Henry.
Since he will almost certainly be ruled out for this upcoming week’s game, the Ravens will have to lean on Henry a little bit more and turn to second-year pro Keaton Mitchell and rookie Rasheen Ali against their AFC clash against the Texans on Wednesday.
Mitchell has been a healthy scratch for the last three games and has only been active three times this year since being added to the active roster after opening the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He suffered a severe knee injury that cut his standout rookie season short in 2023 and has been “looking good” in practice according to head coach John Harbaugh who believes he is prepared to play and produce if and when called upon.
“Keaton’s been ready to go,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “There’s levels of being ready to go. He’s coming off the injury, but I would say, in practice, we’ve seen steady progress with his explosiveness and his quickness.”
After he went out, Henry took the bulk of the running back snaps but Ali checked into the game earlier than he did last week when he saw his first offensive snaps of the season in the second half of the New York Giants but it still wasn’t a comparable workload to Hill. The fifth-rounder got to carry the ball once for two yards on Saturday and has lined up in the end zone next to Hill on kickoffs in the games he has appeared in this season. Harbaugh is also confident in his ability to play more meaningful offensive snaps this week if needed.
“I believe he’ll be ready to go,” Harbaugh said. “He’s pretty good in pass protection, he knows what he’s doing, but until you get out there and play in a regular game, and you’re challenged with all the things that go with it, you don’t really know. He’ll have an opportunity to kind of show what he’s all about.”
While Mitchell has yet to receive a carry this season, as a rookie he proved that he doesn’t need a heavy workload to make a big impact. The former undrafted free agent averaged 8.4 yards per carry despite averaging just under six carries per game because he was an explosive play waiting to happen anytime he touched the ball. He recorded at least one play of 20-plus yards from scrimmage in five straight games before he went down with his injury and is eager to show what he can do again.
“I’m as antsy as it gets,” Mitchell said via the team website. “It’s been a year, been too long. So I’m ready.”