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Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell has been quite the surprise during his rookie season. After playing two offensive snaps through the first eight weeks of the season, he exploded for 138 yards on nine carries in Week 9. Since then, Mitchell has been working his way up to the number one back in a crowded committee.
Unfortunately, the speedy rookie suffered a serious knee injury in Week 15 during their Sunday night game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He left in the fourth quarter and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Fantasy managers in need of a running back are surely wondering if they can count on him for the playoffs.
When is Keaton Mitchell coming back to action? What is his fantasy football outlook when he returns?
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Keaton Mitchell Latest Injury Update - December 18
Mitchell received some of the worst news not too long after suffering his gruesome-looking injury. Head coach John Harbaugh told the media that the rookie back suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the season. There wasn't any cartlidge damage, Harbaugh said, so the recovery process should be clean and routine.
Now, the backfield is down to two again with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. This comes as sad news while the rookie ended with 396 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries to go along with nine receptions for 93 yards on 11 targets.
Keaton Mitchell Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Mitchell (knee) suffered the knee injury in the fourth quarter of the Ravens' Week 15 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Since it was a non-contact injury that forced him to leave the game, everyone was worried about the outcome of the tests on his knee.
During the post-game press conference, head coach John Harbaugh said that the knee injury was significant and that the team believed he would miss the rest of the season. At the time, however, the extent of the knee injury wasn't known since the MRI was still waiting.
Keaton Mitchell Fantasy Football Outlook
For fantasy managers who are competing in redraft leagues, Mitchell won't be available to return any more value throughout the fantasy playoffs. His value in keeper and dynasty formats, however, is still alive and well. He proved to possess some of the best explosive-play ability and the Ravens quickly trusted him with more snaps despite being an undrafted rookie.
Now that his season is over, he finished with the second-most yards per carry out of all running backs with 40 or more carries. In a run-heavy offense, despite boasting an improved passing game, Mitchell has some intrigue as an RB2 next season. Especially since it's unlikely that J.K. Dobbins returns and Mitchell proved to be better than Justice Hill, too.
The biggest question mark is how the torn ACL is going to affect his speed and elusiveness. With that being said, fantasy managers will need to pick up either Edwards or Hill for the rest of the fantasy playoffs and monitor Mitchell's rehab ahead of next year's drafts.
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