diff --git a/pkg/testutils/lint/lint_test.go b/pkg/testutils/lint/lint_test.go
index 641016ddd5fd..39feee411d13 100644
--- a/pkg/testutils/lint/lint_test.go
+++ b/pkg/testutils/lint/lint_test.go
@@ -731,9 +731,6 @@ func TestLint(t *testing.T) {
 			":!**/embedded.go",
 			":!util/timeutil/time.go",
 			":!util/timeutil/zoneinfo.go",
-			":!util/tracing/span.go",
-			":!util/tracing/crdbspan.go",
-			":!util/tracing/tracer.go",
 			":!cmd/roachtest/tests/gorm_helpers.go",
 		)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go b/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
index d5a4533dca82..f21d0cecc405 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
@@ -854,7 +854,7 @@ func (s *crdbSpan) getRecordingNoChildrenLocked(
 		// -1 indicates an unfinished Span. For a recording it's better to put some
 		// duration in it, otherwise tools get confused. For example, we export
 		// recordings to Jaeger, and spans with a zero duration don't look nice.
-		rs.Duration = time.Since(rs.StartTime)
+		rs.Duration = timeutil.Since(rs.StartTime)
 		rs.Finished = false
 	} else {
 		rs.Finished = true
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/tracer.go b/pkg/util/tracing/tracer.go
index cdb0562704ad..0ae5f02b58d2 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/tracer.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/tracer.go
@@ -1130,7 +1130,7 @@ child operation: %s, tracer created at:
 		opts.LogTags = opts.Parent.i.crdb.logTags
 	}
 
-	startTime := time.Now()
+	startTime := timeutil.Now()
 
 	// First, create any external spans that we may need (OpenTelemetry, net/trace).
 	// We do this early so that they are available when we construct the main Span,