Diego Pavia certainly did no favors to his draft stock with his late-season and offseason behavior. In particular, the manner in which he reacted to losing the Heisman Trophy to Fernando Mendoza put several NFL teams off. That, paired with his short stature for a signal-caller, led to him going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Now, the former Vanderbilt quarterback will have to hope that some team picks him up on an undrafted free agent contract, or his football days might be over. Here are three teams that could take him up, with the caveat that they likely would think about it twice.
4 Teams That Can Still Sign Diego Pavia
#4 Arizona Cardinals
Yes, the Cardinals got another famous college quarterback during the NFL Draft in the form of Miami’s Carson Beck, but in all honesty, they could do with a backup. None of the players on their roster, except for Jacoby Brissett, seems like a realistic choice for the role, and he’s holding out in contract negotiations.
However, Beck is already a sort of prima donna, and his public persona has the potential to become disruptive. That being said, his public persona issues are nowhere near Diego Pavia’s. Can Arizona truly afford to have two difficult personalities in its QB depth chart? How much of a distraction would this be?
#3 New York Jets
The Jets got Cade Klubnik during the NFL Draft, but in all honesty, he’s not what you would call a sure bet. Bringing in Pavia would afford them options and could set up some nice competition during training camp between Pavia, Klubnik, and veteran Geno Smith.
The question again is if the Vanderbilt signal-caller wouldn’t be too much of a distraction. The Jets have proven terrible at this sort of PR issue, and New York might not be the kind of place where you want to let loose someone like Diego Pavia.
#2 Tennessee Titans
How about staying put for the Commodores quarterback? The Tennessee Titans’ QB depth chart already looks like a graveyard of once-promising quarterbacks, with Mitch Trubisky and Will Levis on it. Adding Diego Pavia would just rack up some competition, and there would be little opportunity for him to create a ruckus.
It’s obvious that the first overall pick of last year’s NFL Draft, Cam Ward, is Tennessee’s long-term plan. So it would be less likely that there would be storylines around Pavia’s potential as a starter, distracting the team ahead of 2026.
#1 Baltimore Ravens
Pavia’s best bet is the Baltimore Ravens, who have already invited the undrafted free agent to their training camp. The quarterback position at Baltimore is as secure as it can be, in the hands of Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens could be interested in him due to how similar his playing style is to Jackson’s, mainly based around high mobility playmaking. He will have to show the team that he can be serious.
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