Getty The Baltimore Ravens received a major injury update on the same day they signed a veteran defensive tackle.
Not much has gone right for the Baltimore Ravens two games into the 2024 NFL season, but the winless team received a positive injury update from running back Keaton Mitchell, on the same day veteran defensive tackle Chris Wormley was signed to the practice squad.
Mitchell is recovering from a torn ACL that derailed a rookie season destined to be a breakout campaign. The explosive speedster posted the following message on X on Monday, September 16: “Blessing to see 20+mph again #induetime thank you.”
Blessing to see 20+mph again #induetime⏳ thank you️
Having Mitchell back in the lineup would add the big plays that have been missing on the ground, despite the presence of two-time league rushing champion Derrick Henry.
Former Raven Wormley could help solve another problem. Namely, a lack of numbers and run-stuffing beef along the D-line.
For now, Wormley is back at M&T Bank Stadium after a four-year absence, but only in a reserve capacity, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Wormley boasts the experience and the brawn to play his way into a bigger role as this season progresses. Especially since the Ravens had been kicking the tyres on another burly defensive tackle who once played in Baltimore.
Ravens Need Keaton Mitchell’s Speed
Mitchell needed just two games to expand the Ravens’ rushing attack. As Doug Farrar wrote for Touchdown Wire, the former undrafted free agent out of East Carolina emerged as “the league’s most prominent purveyor of big plays on the ground.”
Most of those field-stretching runs were produced during back-to-back contests against the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns. Speed defined Mitchell’s emergence when he scored from 37 yards against the Browns to account “for the two fastest speeds by @Ravens‘ ball carriers this season (20.99 mph on 40-yd TD run last week vs SEA),” according to Next Gen Stats.
On his 12th NFL touch, Keaton Mitchell (37-yard TD run) reached a top speed of 20.92 mph.
Mitchell is now responsible for the two fastest speeds by @Ravens' ball carriers this season (20.99 mph on 40-yd TD run last week vs SEA).#CLEvsBAL | #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/0rSDNngYs4
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 12, 2023
Mitchell was a breakout talent until injury struck. Although he’s still set to miss the next two games while he finishes a stint on the PUP list, the Ravens could soon benefit from Mitchell’s breakaway threat again.
The Ravens need Mitchell because Henry has been inconsistent. He averaged only 3.5 yards per carry against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, but Henry bounced back to clock 4.7 per attempt during Week 2’s 26-23 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Henry’s improvement was largely due to this 29-yard run.
It was trademark Henry, but this is also the only run of 20-plus yards he’s mustered in a Ravens uniform. A struggling offensive line hasn’t helped, but the Ravens need the thunder and lightning combination of Henry’s downhill power and Mitchell’s sudden-strike quickness.
Just like the defensive line needs another big body.
Chris Wormley Answers Need
Wormley’s 6-foot-5, 300-pound frame adds more size to Baltimore’s options along the defensive side of the trenches. It’s something the Ravens were looking for when they worked out another of their former linemen, Lawrence Guy.
Like Guy, Wormley is not a gifted pass-rusher. He has just 11 career sacks to his credit, but the 30-year-old can still clog rushing lanes.
A good example involved Wormley making a stop against the New York Jets during his first stint with the Ravens back in 2019. The play was highlighted by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot.
Building defenses around a massive front has long been a Ravens trademark. Bringing Wormley back continues the trend.
He’s appeared in 33 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers the last three years, making 15 starts. So Wormley can see the field as a rotational lineman to help keep starters Michael Pierce, Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike fresh.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko