Former Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback and Heisman finalist Diego Pavia went undrafted in the 2026 NFL draft. It was then reported that he would be attending minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens and later that he had signed a three-year deal with the franchise as an undrafted free agent.
The deal puts Pavia in line to compete with another undrafted free agent at the position, Joe Fagnan, on the 90-man roster for the opportunity to back up two-time MVP Lamar Jackson on the final 53-man roster.
On Wednesday, new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football and discussed Pavia’s addition.
“One thing I would say about Diego — and Clark Lea, the head coach at Vanderbilt, is a really dear, close friend of mine — this guy was a force multiplier at Vanderbilt,” Minter said. “He came there at a time when they needed to get it going and Clark was building something. And this guy made everybody in the building better. He’s one of the first people in, he’s one of the last to leave. He’s a really hard worker.
“This guy is a force multiplier at Vanderbilt” @Coach_Minter on former Vandy and new Ravens QB @diegopavia02 👇 pic.twitter.com/Q0K0xsRCpI
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) April 29, 2026
“We’ll certainly have some talks about maybe how to handle certain things a little bit better. But, again, any rookie undrafted free agent — come in and work. Let what you do on the field and by your actions show who you really are. We’ll let him come in with a little bit of a clean slate and just give him a platform, along with the rest of the guys coming in, give them a platform to see what they can do.”
Pavia finished his four-year collegiate career with a completion percentage of 62.2 percent across 53 games for 10,255 yards with 88 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. On the ground, he tallied 3,098 yards and 31 TDs.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.