Ravens Waive Former Vanderbilt Star Diego Pavia Days Before Training Camp: Where Does the Heisman Finalist Go Now?
Diego Pavia’s shot at the Baltimore Ravens is over before it really got started. The team waived the former Vanderbilt quarterback and Heisman finalist Thursday to make room for veteran center Ethan Pocic, whom Baltimore had just signed.
Pavia went undrafted this year despite one of the more impressive final college seasons in the SEC. He threw for 3,539 yards and totaled 39 touchdowns at Vanderbilt in 2025 while leading the Commodores to a top-25 finish. That production would have made him a legitimate mid-round pick in most years. His age and size dropped him out of the draft entirely.
The Numbers Never Told the Full Story
Pavia is listed at 5-foot-10. He turned 25 during his final college season, older than most rookies entering the league. Teams also raised concerns about off-field conduct going back to his time as a Junior College quarterback at New Mexico Military Institute.
The size question is the biggest one. Modern NFL evaluation still leans heavily on height at quarterback. Bryce Young at 5-foot-10 was drafted first overall a few years ago and has struggled to consistently produce, and every young shorter quarterback since faces the same skepticism. Pavia never overcame it.
Baltimore gave him a shot in offseason camp anyway. He competed for the third-string quarterback role behind Lamar Jackson and Cooper Rush. His initial competition was fellow undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano. The Ravens then signed veteran Skylar Thompson mid-camp, and Thompson quickly outperformed Pavia in minicamp reps. That was the beginning of the end.
The Roster Move Was About Depth Elsewhere
The proximate cause of the release was Baltimore signing Pocic, a legitimate veteran center with starting experience. The Ravens needed the roster spot for a player who could contribute on the offensive line immediately. Pavia was the odd man out because Thompson had already secured the third quarterback job.
That is how the NFL works. Roster spots are precious in July. Waiving a Heisman finalist is not personal. It is math.
Where Does Pavia Go From Here?
Undrafted rookies who get waived in July typically catch on with another team’s camp within a week or two. Pavia will get calls. His college tape is real. Some team will bring him in as a training camp arm and see if the size question really matters when the pads come on.
If nothing pans out in the NFL, the CFL is a legitimate option. Canadian football rewards quarterbacks with mobility, quick release and the willingness to make plays outside structure. Pavia checks every one of those boxes. The USFL and UFL are also options.
The path is not easy. Michael Vick was 6 feet tall. Kyler Murray is 5-foot-10. Doug Flutie was 5-foot-10. Every one of those quarterbacks had to fight the same battle Pavia is fighting now. Some won it. Others did not.
Pavia is a fighter. His entire college career was a fight against the same doubts he is hearing now. The Ravens are done with him. Some team is going to give him another shot. Whether that shot turns into a real NFL career is the question that will define the next 12 months of his life.
Do not count him out. Anyone who watched him carve up Alabama last year knows exactly what he is capable of.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
