Clifton Brown
The Ravens have elevated veteran tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden from the practice squad again for Sunday's home opener against the Cleveland Browns.
After three years on the practice squad, Mitchell-Paden made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills,and he rose to the occasion.He played 15 snaps and threw a key block on Derrick Henry's 30-yard touchdown run.
With fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) and tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) sidelined for the second straight week, Mitchell-Paden has another opportunity to make his presence felt as a hybrid blocker.
The Ravens had an NFL-leading 238 rushing yards in Week 1, and Mitchell-Paden's physicality was part of the equation. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken said Mitchell-Paden has stood out since the beginning of training camp.
"In my mind, he could have easily made the 53[-man roster]," Monken said. "If you have training camp for guys to earn to make the team; he did that. For him to play in the backfield, which we hadn't done a lot ofit was huge in terms of our ability to run the ball like we did."
It's especially meaningful for Mitchell-Paden considering it will be the Maryland native's first regular-season game at M&T Bank Stadium and because he spent his first two years in the NFL with the Browns.
