‘That’s actually insane’: Ravens’ Justice Hill, Saints’ Alvin Kamara share unlikely bond

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Eight summers into a Ravens career that could’ve ended after three, Justice Hill learned something about himself.

Only two active NFL running backs hadn’t changed teams since 2019, Ravens running backs coach Eddie Faulkner told Hill in training camp. One was Alvin Kamara, a New Orleans Saints mainstay since 2017.

The other was Hill.

“I was like, ‘Damn, that’s actually insane,’” he recalled after practice Thursday.

Kamara and Hill will meet Sunday in Baltimore, two unusual flag-bearers for running back longevity in an NFL largely inhospitable to the idea. Kamara, 31, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection with over 12,000 career yards from scrimmage. Hill, 28, has five career starts and over 2,000 career yards from scrimmage.

Hill called his durability in Baltimore a “testament to commitment” — his own but perhaps the Ravens’ as well. Over the past seven-plus seasons, 16 Ravens running backs have had at least one carry, from Gus Edwards to Latavius Murray to Trenton Cannon. But no one has played as many games for the team as Hill (85).

“You can always look and say, ‘Ah, dang, if I went over here, I could do this, do that,’” Hill said. “But, really, just being focused on what you’re doing right here, right now [is important]. And, if something else opens in the future, you can entertain it. But while you’re here in the building … you’ve got winning on your mind and perfecting your craft. So I think it’s a testament to that.”

Hill was not supposed to make it this long. According to NFL Players Association data from the 1987 to 1996 seasons, the average running back career lasted 2.57 years, an NFL low. In the decades since, modern medicine has only improved. But the defenders hunting running backs have only gotten faster and stronger, too.

Hill, drafted with the fourth-round pick that the Ravens acquired in their trade of quarterback Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos, had modeled his game after Kamara in college. But, in his early years in Baltimore, that was about as far as the comparisons went.

Kamara was a Pro Bowl pick his first two seasons in New Orleans; Hill barely played. Stuck behind Mark Ingram, Edwards and J.K. Dobbins on the NFL’s best rushing attack, Hill had just 70 carries for 285 yards in 2019 and 2020.

Entering the Ravens’ preseason finale in 2021, he expected to be cut. Coach John Harbaugh had told him as much. Then Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury. Hill figured he had a role on the team. Then he tore his Achilles tendon in practice, a season-ending, career-threatening injury.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to make it past [Year] 3, 4,” Hill said. “I didn’t even know if I was going to get an opportunity to show what I can do here. And you just have to be patient. So if you would have asked me back then if I would envision this now — never in a million years. I would have took a $100 million bet and said I would not be here. It’s always insane.”

As Hill’s family grew in Baltimore — he would soon welcome a baby girl and later get married — his career took root. After missing the 2021 season, Hill returned to full health and made the Ravens’ 53-man roster in 2022. In 2023, he set career highs in carries (84), rushing yards (387) and rushing touchdowns (three). In 2024, he set career highs in catches (42), receiving yards (383) and receiving touchdowns (three).

Hill has never been a star, but his growth as a pass blocker, receiver and returner has kept him in the Ravens’ plans. He’s on his third contract in Baltimore, with nearly $15 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac. He has learned which offenses work best for him, the value of player-coordinator relationships and much more.

“When he was going through the scouting process, and I went out to Oklahoma State and met with him there … I knew the caliber of guy he was,” Faulkner said of Hill last month. “He’s gone on in his career to show that he’s as good a third-down back as there is in the league.”

Hill has never met Kamara, but he has heard plenty of stories. Ingram, who signed with the Ravens a month before they drafted Hill, was a teammate and close friend of Kamara’s in New Orleans. Even dropping Ingram’s name, Hill joked, makes him feel like he’s dating himself.

“Sounds like a decade ago,” he said.