Why one writer believes Diego Pavia can make the Ravens in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Diego Pavia was one of the stars of the 2026 college football season.
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The underdog quarterback led the Vanderbilt Commodores to unseen heights and will go down as possibly the best passer in school history. However, due to his age, size, and other factors, Pavia still went undrafted in 2026.
Pavia didn’t wait too long to get a shot, though. The quarterback landed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens and will have a shot to compete for a backup quarterback spot this summer.
Most teams have at least a couple undrafted free agents make the team, so it’s not impossible for Pavia to do it. One NFL writer, Mike Kadlick of Sports Illustrated, recently explained why Pavia has a real shot.
How Diego Pavia can make the roster in 2026
The Ravens obviously have Lamar Jackson entrenched as the starter. Behind Jackson, the team currently rosters Tyler Huntley, Skylar Thompson, Pavia, and fellow UDFA Joe Fagnano. So, it’s not exactly the deepest quarterback room.
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Kadlick offered the following thoughts:
Should Pavia ultimately find himself on Baltimore’s final roster for the 2026 season, he could offer up an intriguing role, even with Jackson entrenched as the team’s starter. During his appearance on former NFL coach Jon Gruden’s QB Class earlier this spring, the idea of Pavia being a backup to begin his NFL career—while also being a contributor on offense right away—was brought up.
This could bode useful if Baltimore wants to take a load off of Jackson in the running game. After all, the 29-year-old missed four games due to injury in 2025 and tallied career lows in carries (67), rushing yards (349) and rushing touchdowns (2).
As Kadlick mentioned, Pavia has expressed an openness to playing other positions, a la Taysom Hill. This is why Baltimore is an interesting landing spot, because the team’s offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, was an assistant with the Saints for four years while Hill was on the team.
It’s therefore possible the Ravens could keep Pavia around due to his versatility. However, the Ravens have only kept three quarterbacks on the roster once in the last five years. That makes it much more likely that Pavia ends up on the practice squad, and perhaps make an appearance later on.
It just seems unlikely that the Ravens would keep Pavia as the lone backup to Jackson. Stranger things have happened though, and it’s worth keeping an eye on.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
