The Baltimore Ravens are getting a big boost on their offense, as the team has officially activated Keaton Mitchell off IR. Mitchell has missed most of the regular season while recovering from an ACL tear, but he will now make his debut on Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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The Ravens had to make a tough choice in bringing back Mitchell, as they waived veteran defense end Yannick Ngaoue to ensure that Mitchell had a roster spot. The young running back will also be making his regular season debut, hence the team needing to waive Ngakoue.
The Ravens also indicated they planned to resign Ngakoue back to the practice squad.
Mitchell was a rookie in 2023 and put together an impressive performance in limited action. Through eight games, he put together 396 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries for an 8.4 yards per rush average.
Mitchell also stacked on 96 receiving yards to go along with that. Despite only appearing in half the games last season, the then-rookie showed a ton of promise.
The Ravens currently have Derrick Henry as their lead back, and the former Tennessee Titans phenom has continued his dominance with Baltimore. Through nine games, he has secured a league-leading 1,052 rushing yards. Henry also has 11 touchdowns to go along with that.
There is no reality where Henry is replaced by Mitchell, but the Raven rushing attack just got far more dangerous. With Henry, Mitchell, and quarterback Lamar Jackson also running the ball — the Ravens might be hard to stop on the ground.
Baltimore will go toe-to-toe with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football in a very important divisional matchup. The Ravens are currently 6-3 on the season and are a game behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers. A win against the Bengals will place Baltimore in first place.
Should the Steelers also lose on Sunday, the Ravens will overtake the division.
Both Jackson and Henry have been playing lights out, and adding Mitchell is sure to add another spark to this already dangerous offense. If Mitchell can return to his proper form before he suffered his knee injury, the Ravens could end up having one of the best running back duos in the league.
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Though John Harbaugh indicated that Mitchell would be playing tonight, he may be worked back into action slowly. However, he might also be given the opportunity to rotate in for Henry and see if he can still get chunk yardage. Either way, this is a huge addition for the Ravens.
For more on the Ravens, head to Newsweek Sports.
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