Ahead of the Ravens’ Week 3 contest, the team agreed to a two-year extension with Justice Hill. The sixth-year running back has spent his entire career with Baltimore, but he did not anticipate receiving a new deal at this point.
Hill said in the wake of the pact being signed that he was surprised by it. The Ravens inked him to a two-year deal last March, so the team had the option of remaining patient on the contract front. Instead, Hill received $6MM on his latest pact, one which represents a slight raise and has him on the books through 2026.
“I just come to work every single day,’ the 26-year-old said when addressing the deal (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). “I wasn’t paying much attention to [the contract]… I’m a Raven, man. This is where I want to be. Grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
Hill had minimal production during his first two seasons while logging a special teams role. He suffered an Achilles tear ahead of the 2021 campaign, but since then he has not had any major injury problems. The former fourth-rounder stepped into the largest offensive role of his career last season with the Ravens experiencing injuries elsewhere on the running back depth chart. Hill amassed 593 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns while also handling part-time special teams duties.
The Ravens, like many other teams, used free agency to make a notable backfield addition this offseason. Derrick Henry was added on a two-year deal to handle a starter’s workload following the departures of J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards on the open market. Keaton Mitchell – who impressed during a brief healthy stretch as a rookie – is set to occupy a role once fully recovered from the ACL tear which ended his 2023 season. Hill will still be in the backfield mix once that takes place, though.
The Oklahoma State product is clearly in the team’s plans beyond 2024 given the renewed commitment. As much as it was not expected, Hill clearly moved quickly in accepting the extension and his ability to reward Baltimore with continued steady play will be worth following over the coming years.