Initially set to take part in a Ravens tryout at their weekend rookie minicamp, Diego Pavia has secured a UDFA deal ahead of that point. Baltimore is signing the undrafted quarterback Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.
This will be a standard three-year UDFA contract. Pavia follows Jalon Daniels (Buccaneers) and Haynes King (Panthers) as QBs to find homes post-draft. The Vanderbilt quarterback finished second in the 2025 Heisman voting, completing a four-year career spent with the Commodores and at New Mexico State.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Year led the conference with a 70.6% completion rate, 29 touchdown passes, and 9.4 yards per attempt in 2025. He finished second to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza in Heisman voting, but as our Nikhil Mehta noted during the pre-draft process, size is a major concern about his potential in the NFL. Listed as 6 feet tall in college, Pavia measured in at 5-foot-9 at the Combine.
Transferring from New Mexico State in 2024, Pavia completed 59.4% of his passes in his first Vanderbilt season. That year did include a 20:4 TD-INT ratio while also featuring 801 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. The run game served as a key component for the undersized QB in college, as he gained 923 yards at New Mexico State in 2023 and 862 (to go with 10 TDs) in his Heisman runner-up season. Pavia’s rushing ability certainly should appeal to a Ravens team that deploys the league’s most dynamic quarterback as its starter.
Baltimore has used Tyler Huntley as its backup for a chunk of Lamar Jackson‘s career, reacquiring him last year and re-signing him this offseason. Jackson and Huntley entered Tuesday as the only QBs on the Ravens’ roster (Baltimore gave Huntley a two-year, $5MM deal coming with $3.5MM at signing). That opens the door to a potential developmental backup, and it will be interesting to see if Pavia can make a case to land on Baltimore’s 53-man roster or practice squad by summer’s end.
Good destination for him
There will be hundreds of articles when he is cut after the last preseason game.
Better signing than Rodgers. Oops, Aaron hasn’t signed yet.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Eli Stowers attempts more NFL passes than Pavia does outside of preseason action.
Wow… Do the Ravens not know that I am available? I need to contact my agent
He has potential
Potential to do what he is 5 foot 9 man.
Russell Wilson at 5’11 is probably the best “short” QB to do it. 5’9 is just not going to get it done in the NFL it just isn’t.
The same way Kenny Pickett wasn’t going to amount to anything with his little hands. There are reasons that teams look at these sorts of things.
Brady, Montana, and Manning all 6’2 or taller.
He made decent plays in college. Maybe they see something in him
The NFL > college ball.
There’s a reason why NOBODY drafted him in seven rounds.
Mostly character issues not talent. He was a Heisman runner up
It was a little deal.
That Browns blood still running deep.
They also signed Fagnano, a better pro prospect at QB than Pavia.
This kid is exciting to watch. Low risk signing as long as he doesn’t poison the locker room.
He’ll probably be a preseason darling for most of his career but hey that’s better than nothing.
He’s the football equivalent of a Chihuahua & less entertaining than the Taco Bell one from the ‘90’s.
Surprised Pavia didn’t hire another attorney, find a “friendly” judge in TN, and sue for ANOTHER year of NIL eligibility!