Chargers sign $9.25 million high-upside RB to free agent contract originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Los Angeles Chargers already have Omarion Hampton, but this isn’t a one-RB NFL anymore.
So on Thursday, they added a high-upside running back to pair with Hampton.
The new guy is free agent signing Keaton Mitchell, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, and his contract comes in at two years for $9.25 million in total value.
Mitchell comes aboard from the Ravens, where he a bit of an up-and-down tenure but showed at his best that he has intriguing speed and upside.
Mitchell took the NFL by storm as an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina in 2023. He played in eight games and ran 47 times for 396 yards and two touchdowns.
That was an absurd 8.4 yards per carry, and different metrics, including sprint speed, backed it up.
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Mitchell got hurt to end that season prematurely, though, and when he returned in 2024 for five games, he averaged just 2.0 yards per carry (15 carries for 30 yards in a small sample size).
The 2025 season was mostly a bounce back, running 59 times for 341 yards and a score, which works out to 5.8 yards per carry.
The Ravens kept Mitchell inactive a few times as a healthy scratch, though, and John Harbaugh had suggested that Mitchell wasn’t necessarily equipped to be a full-time RB and instead more of a guy who needed specific plays drawn up for him.
If Jim Harbaugh asked his brother about Mitchell, though, apparently he liked what he heard.
Now, Mitchell will join the Chargers and try to give his NFL career another positive jolt.
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