6 troubling (and encouraging) questions about Ravens injuries the team MUST answer

4. RB Keaton Mitchell back from IR. Will the Ravens activate him or Melvin Gordon?

Although he all kind of expected the news as Mitchell entered the regular season placed on IR and forced to miss the first four games of the season, the UDFA running back finally trained with his teammates on Wednesday, the earliest he could have following his exit from Injured Reserve.

Mitchell's return to practice means that the Ravens have entered a 21-day span after which they will face a deadline. On that day (or before) the Ravens will need to decide whether to sign Mitchell to the 53-man roster for the remainder of the season, or deactivate the youngster for all games left in the schedule with his return delayed until the 2024 campaign.

Obviously, activating Mitchell should be a priority with J.K. Dobbins lost for the year and the backfield looking shaky at times and only featuring oft-injured players like Gus Edwards and Justice Hill and subpar/practice-squad members Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake.

Drake has two elevations left, but Gordon already spent his third one last weekend and thus can only be signed to the 53-man roster if he wants to play again.

At the end of the day, this decision will come down to whether Baltimore prefers to bet on signing Melvin Gordon for the full season or just leave him in the PS for now while trusting Mitchell going forward.