With running back Keaton Mitchell lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL on a gruesome play in Sunday night’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens signed Melvin Gordon III from the practice squad to their 53-man roster Tuesday as expected. They also bolstered their backfield by adding a former local high school star.
Baltimore signed former Maryland and Damascus High running back Jake Funk to its practice squad, filling Gordon’s spot.
A 25-year-old Gaithersburg native, Funk tore his ACL in his left knee his junior and senior seasons at Maryland. As a fifth-year senior in 2020, he led the Big Ten Conference in yards per carry (8.6), finishing his Terps career with 2,070 yards from scrimmage before being drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
Funk appeared in 10 games with the Rams during their Super Bowl season, playing primarily on special teams before being waived last October. He then bounced around practice squads, going from the New Orleans Saints, to the Indianapolis Colts, to the Miami Dolphins, and appeared in five games for the Colts.
At Damascus, Funk was the Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season and had 270 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns — part of his Maryland state-record 57 — against Dundalk in a 55-14 win in the 2015 Class 3A state championship game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Seven years later, he returned to the Ravens’ field as a member of the Rams.
“It’s just gonna be special,” Funk told The Baltimore Sun in January 2022 ahead of Los Angeles’ game in Baltimore two seasons ago. “Just to be in a place where you dreamed about being there on Sundays as a high school kid and just being able to come back home, hopefully put on a good performance in front of a lot of people who supported me throughout my high school and college career.”
Funk was available after the Dolphins released him last month following just over a month with their practice squad, and the Ravens needed a back for their practice squad with Gordon being signed to the active roster.
By signing with Baltimore, he also re-joins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was with the Rams in the 2021-22 season.
“Every game in this league is special, man, no matter what,” Funk said in 2022. “Just being in this league is special within itself.”
And presumably more special to now be playing close to home.
Week 16
Ravens at 49ers
Monday, 8:15 p.m.
TV: ABC, ESPN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: 49ers by 5 1/2
