Ravens running back Derrick Henry wasn’t with Baltimore when Keaton Mitchell broke out last year during his rookie season, so he never got to experience a backfield mate at least as fast as he is, and in Mitchell’s case likely faster.

He also acknowledged being “a little worried” for Mitchell’s season debut last Thursday night in what was the second-year undrafted free agent’s first game since suffering a torn ACL in December of last year.

“But once I seen him take that kickoff return and he got hit a little bit and got up off the ground, I was like, yeah, he’s back, he’s good,” Henry said. “I’m excited to have him back.”

The broad smile that stretched across Mitchell’s face after practice Tuesday afternoon in Owings Mills was all the indication anyone needed to know that he was equally elated.

Mitchell played just two snaps on offense and had only one carry that went for 0 yards, with the play wiped out by a penalty on the Bengals. He logged seven snaps on special teams, which included one kickoff return of 30 yards.

But for Mitchell, who called the experience a “warmup” game, it felt good just to put pads on and set foot on the field for a game again.“It was a long process,” said Mitchell, who tore three ligaments as well as cartilage in his left knee in Week 15 last year against the Jaguars in Jacksonville. “Everybody come up to me and said that it went by fast, but to me it didn’t go by fast. It seemed like it took forever.”

Mitchell added that he couldn’t walk for about a month after the injury, but he spent all but about two weeks in the area so he could continue rehabilitating at the team’s facility, rather than returning home to the Atlanta area.

He also considered waiting until this Sunday’s game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh to return but decided to “rip the Band-Aid off,” at the advice of his father, former Ravens defense back Anthony Mitchell.

“I hit faster than what I hit last year,” Mitchell said. “Once I hit my speed, I knew that now it’s time to get the football portion of my ability back just being able to play football, not just using my speed because I can’t really use my speed all the time.”

It wasn’t until two weeks ago that Mitchell said he turned the corner and felt like his explosive self, and his return gives the Ravens what coach John Harbaugh called a “three-headed monster” in the backfield, between Henry, Mitchell and quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Already with the league’s leading rushing attack (182.6 yards per game), the NFL’s top rusher in Henry (1,120 yards, 12 touchdowns) and the favorite to win a third NFL Most Valuable Player Award in Jackson (2,669 yards passing, 24 touchdowns; 538 yards rushing, two scores), the 5-foot-8, 191-pound Mitchell provides another dimension. From Weeks 9 to 16 last season, his 8.4 yards per carry and 5.9 yards after contact led the league. His top speed of 20.99 mph, according to Next Gen Stats, was also the fastest of any Ravens running back last season.

And indications are he is every bit as fast as he was last season.

“His speed is still there,” Ravens running back Justice Hill said. “By the time he got to the game he already had 2-3 weeks of practice, so he was already confident. He’s looking like Keaton.”

He should know.

Hill overcame a season-ending torn Achilles in 2019 and has been a steady and integral part of the league’s top offense this season as both a runner, receiver and blocker. He also saw former Baltimore backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards come back from season-ending ACL tears and said Mitchell is ahead of the curve.

Now he, like everyone else in the organization and fan base, is excited to see what Mitchell can do as he continues to get ramped up within the offense.

“We already had the best backfield in the league,” Hill said. “Adding him to it is only going to make us more explosive.”

As for what Mitchell expects?

“Just be patient take advantage of every opportunity I get,” he said. “Hopefully I get going fast.”

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