Diego Pavia's time with the Baltimore Ravens has come to a quick end. The Ravens waived the former Vanderbilt star quarterback just before the start of training camp, the team announced Thursday. Baltimore picked up Pavia as an undrafted free agent following April's NFL Draft.
The Ravens had some familiarity with Pavia through head coach Jesse Minter. Minter served as the Commodores' defensive coordinator under head coach Clark Lea in 2021, who was Pavia's head coach in his final two seasons with Vanderbilt. Pavia's final season with the Commodores was nothing short of impressive.
He had 3,539 passing yards, a 70.6% completion rate, 29 touchdown passes (which led the SEC) and just eight interceptions. On the ground, Pavia also added 862 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. On top of being Vanderbilt’s first-ever Heisman finalist last season — finishing second in voting behind Fernando Mendoza — Pavia also led Vanderbilt to a historic 10-win season.
Heading into training camp, which starts on Wednesday, Pavia was in contention for the Ravens' third-string quarterback spot behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. Now, the competition for No. 3 is between veteran Skylar Thompson and Joe Fagnano, who’s an undrafted free agent from Connecticut.
The Ravens' decision to waive Pavia gave veteran center Ethan Pocic a spot on the 90-man roster for training camp, as he'll be a part of the competition to replace three-time Pro Bowler after he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.
