4 young Ravens players whose roster spots are in jeopardy
By Justin Fried
4. Justice Hill, RB, Ravens
Justice Hill is a player who found himself fighting for a roster spot last offseason. And in all honesty, if not for a torn Achilles suffered in early September, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have been on the Week 1 roster.
A fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Hill has never been able to make a serious impact during his time with the Ravens. He received some playing time as a rookie but failed to do much of anything with his touches.
Following the addition of J.K. Dobbins, Hill was relegated to a role primarily on special teams in 2020 as he carried the ball just 12 times all year.
The former Oklahoma State star returned in 2021 competing for a role as RB3 behind Dobbins and Gus Edwards. He was presumed to be the favorite, but a late surge from former undrafted free agent Ty’Son Williams threatened his roster spot.
Williams appeared to have the inside edge on the job with many at the time projecting that he would beat out Hill for a spot on the 53-man roster. Ultimately, injuries to Dobbins, Edwards, and Hill himself changed plans quickly.
Hill is set to return this season, but the Ravens could look to upgrade their RB3 role behind a returning Dobbins and Edwards.
Given that Hill was already on the roster bubble last year and that he’s returning from one of the worst injuries a running back could suffer, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Ravens draft his replacement with one of their 10 picks this spring.