Keaton Mitchell "a lot more confident" in knee this year

Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell burst on the scene by averaging more than eight yards per carry as a rookie in 2023, but a torn ACL cut his season short and limited him to seven lackluster appearances last season.

There were signs of the old spark in Mitchell's play on Thursday night, however. Mitchell ran for a 22-yard touchdown in the first quarter and he ran nine times for 68 yards overall against the Colts.

In the opening statement of his postgame press conference, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Mitchell "made a bunch of plays for us and got after it." Mitchell chalked his success up to a confidence in his health that was missing when he made it back into the lineup last year.

"I feel good just coming back from strength and conditioning, OTAs, camp," Mitchell said, via a transcript from the team. Feel a lot better, a lot more confident. So just being more confident in myself and trusting my knee - that it's stronger, and it can do what I need it to do."

Derrick Henry remains the top dog in the Ravens backfield and they have Justice Hill and Rasheen Ali back from last year as well, but teams will always make space for dynamic players and continued signs from Mitchell that he's back in that category would add another wrinkle to Baltimore's offense in 2025.