The Los Angeles Chargers put up just three points in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 season, losing to the New England Patriots, and now they’ve added a new weapon for quarterback Justin Herbert.
Chargers Sign Former Ravens Running Back Keaton Mitchell
In the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chargers got their starting running back of the present and future, selecting Omarion Hampton. That said, the running back position takes more hits than others, and we saw that with Hampton, who played in 9 games, rushing 124 times for 545 yards and 5 total touchdowns. He finished with a PFSN NFL RB Impact score of 54.7, which was 34th in the NFL.
The Chargers brought in a veteran backup, Najee Harris, but he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 3. This left them turning to Kimani Vidal, who finished with a PFSN RB Impact score of 47.6 (44th).
Now the Chargers have brought in reinforcements, signing former Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell to a two-year, $9.25 million deal with $5 million in guarantees, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Former Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell is signing with the Chargers on a two-year, $9.25 million deal that includes $5M fully guaranteed, per source.
Deal negotiated by Christian Kranz and Shane Costa of Generation Sports Group. pic.twitter.com/O65BLgmwOt — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 12, 2026
According to PFSN, Mitchell has just 121 carries over three seasons, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and a 14.9% explosive run rate.
PFSN’s Debayan Biswas examined the possibility of the Chargers adding incumbent New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara after they signed running back Travis Etienne to a long-term deal, but bringing in Mitchell could negate that possibility.
Keaton Mitchell has just 121 carries over three seasons, but he boasts 6.3 yards per rush and a 14.9% explosive run rate (12+ yards). 👀 pic.twitter.com/cloP7QaIz2
— PFSN (@PFSN365) March 12, 2026
Mitchell went undrafted in 2023 but landed with the Ravens, who were coached by Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John Harbaugh.
The former Ravens head coach has since joined the New York Giants, and the pipeline of players from Baltimore to Los Angeles continues, as J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Hayden Hurst, Charlie Kolar, and others have followed Mitchell’s move.
In addition to Mitchell, the Chargers have also signed center Tyler Biadasz, guard Cole Strange, and fullback Alec Ingold. They also brought back edge rusher Khalil Mack.
This season, the Chargers hope to have a healthy offensive line, including Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. Slater was injured during the preseason, while Alt suffered a season-ending injury midseason.
We’ll see if these moves and improved health can catapult the Chargers to the top of the AFC in 2026-27.
