Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia waived by the Ravens days before training camp

The Heisman runner-up just got cut before camp?!

That was the whiplash reaction across football on Thursday, and it is essentially what happened. The Baltimore Ravens waived quarterback Diego Pavia on July 23, 2026 — days before training camp — per the team's own announcement. The move cleared a roster spot for the Ravens to sign veteran center Ethan Pocic. One of the most improbable careers in recent college football history now runs straight into the coldest arithmetic the NFL has: 90 players, then 53, and a depth chart that had no room left for a fourth arm.

First, the correction everyone's getting wrong

Pavia is not a Heisman winner. He is the 2025 Heisman runner-up. He finished second in the voting — 1,435 points and 189 first-place votes — behind winner Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, announced December 13, 2025. That finish still made history: Pavia was the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt's history. But "Heisman-winning quarterback waived by the Ravens" is a headline you'll see, and it's wrong. Runner-up. It matters, because the real story is almost stranger than the myth.

"Waived," not "released" — and why the distinction is real

The Ravens waived Pavia; they did not simply release him. For a first-year player, that's a meaningful difference. Because he has not yet accrued a full NFL season, Pavia goes to the waiver wire: over the next window, any of the other 31 teams can put in a claim and take on his contract. If no one claims him, he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, able to sign anywhere. As of this writing, there was no confirmation that he'd been claimed — so the honest status is on waivers, awaiting a claim. Do not read a new team into it yet.

How a Heisman finalist ends up on the wire in July

The football reason is unglamorous: he lost the QB3 competition. Reporting around the move indicated Baltimore favored veteran Skylar Thompson and fellow undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano for the back-of-the-room quarterback jobs. Pavia had signed a three-year undrafted-free-agent deal after going undrafted in the 2026 draft — reported as the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since Jordan Lynch in 2014. UDFA contracts carry almost no guarantees. When a line coach needs a body and a center is available, the math is brutal and fast.

The arc that makes this whiplash

Here's why the cut lands the way it does. Rewind the tape:

• 2020–21 — New Mexico Military Institute (JUCO). He started at the junior-college level, the seasons that would later become the crux of a lawsuit.
• 2022–23 — New Mexico State. He moved up to FBS and turned himself into a genuine dual-threat starter.
• 2024–25 — Vanderbilt. He transferred to the SEC and, in 2025, led the Commodores to a program-best 10–3. (Exact 2025 stat lines vary by source, so we'll keep it honest: more than 3,000 passing yards and strong rushing numbers, per contemporaneous reporting, rather than a single disputed total.)
• 2025 hardware. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year.
• December 13, 2025 — Heisman runner-up. Second in the country.

And there's a chapter that isn't a football stat at all. In November 2024, Pavia sued the NCAA, arguing its five-year eligibility clock illegally counted his JUCO seasons. On December 18, 2024, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction letting him play in 2025; the NCAA then issued a blanket waiver for similar former-JUCO athletes, and on October 1, 2025, the Sixth Circuit dismissed the NCAA's appeal as moot, as ESPN reported. He did not pursue a 2026 college season. He'd gone to court to earn one more year, won it, delivered the best season of his life — and then the pros passed on him entirely.

Diego Pavia's Journey, Stop by Stop

Diego Pavia's career journey: from JUCO to the Heisman race to NFL waivers

A searchable timeline of Diego Pavia's football path — New Mexico Military Institute, New Mexico State, the NCAA eligibility fight, Vanderbilt's record 2025 season, the awards, the 2025 Heisman runner-up finish, and his July 2026 waiver by the Baltimore Ravens. Confirmed milestones only.

Search the tableDownload CSV

Year / date	Stop or milestone	What happened
2020-21	New Mexico Military Institute (JUCO)	Began his college career at the junior-college level, the seasons that would later sit at the center of his NCAA eligibility fight.
2022-23	New Mexico State	Moved up to FBS as the Aggies' quarterback, emerging as a dual-threat starter and building the profile that drew a Power-conference program.
Nov-Dec 2024	Sues the NCAA, wins injunction	Sued the NCAA in November 2024, arguing its five-year clock illegally counted JUCO seasons; on Dec 18, 2024 a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction letting him play in 2025, prompting the NCAA to issue a blanket waiver for similar former-JUCO athletes.
2024-25	Vanderbilt	Transferred to Vanderbilt and, in 2025, led the Commodores to a program-best 10-3 record with more than 3,000 passing yards and strong rushing numbers (season totals vary by source).
2025	Golden Arm + SEC OPOY	Won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year for his 2025 season.
Dec 13, 2025	Heisman runner-up	Finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting (1,435 points, 189 first-place votes) behind winner Fernando Mendoza of Indiana — the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history. Runner-up, not the winner.
Oct 1, 2025	Sixth Circuit ends the NCAA appeal	The Sixth Circuit dismissed the NCAA's appeal of his eligibility injunction as moot. He did not pursue a 2026 college season.
2026	Undrafted, signs with the Ravens	Went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft — reported as the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since Jordan Lynch in 2014 — then signed a three-year undrafted-free-agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens.
Jul 23, 2026	Waived by the Ravens (on waivers)	Waived days before training camp after losing the QB3 competition, with the roster spot used to sign veteran center Ethan Pocic. As a first-year player he goes to the waiver wire; as of publication no claim had been confirmed.

How this is calculated

Each row is a dated stop or milestone confirmed by primary announcements and national reporting. Awards, the Heisman finish, the eligibility rulings, and the roster moves are stated as reported. Where 2025 statistical production is referenced it is described loosely rather than with a precise figure, because exact 2025 stat lines conflict across sources; this table deliberately avoids printing any disputed single number as fact.

Data as of July 22, 2026 · verified July 22, 2026 · v1

Assumptions, limitations & sources

Assumptions

• · Seasons are grouped by school as commonly reported: New Mexico Military Institute (2020-21), New Mexico State (2022-23) and Vanderbilt (2024-25).
• · As a first-year player, being waived sends Pavia to the waiver wire, where another team may claim him or he becomes a free agent; the table reflects that unsettled status rather than a new team.

Limitations

• · This is a chronology of confirmed stops and milestones, not a statistical record. Exact 2025 passing and rushing totals differ across sources and are not listed as precise numbers here.
• · The final row reflects status as of July 23, 2026: waived and on the waiver wire. As of publication there was no confirmation of a claim or a new team; that can change quickly.
• · The NCAA eligibility case is included for context and is resolved history, not a July 2026 event.

Sources

• Ravens Waive QB Diego Pavia Ahead of Training Camp (official announcement) — Baltimore Ravens, checked July 22, 2026
• Ravens waive QB Diego Pavia (player news) — NBC Sports, checked July 22, 2026
• Diego Pavia waived by Baltimore — CBS Sports, checked July 22, 2026
• Diego Pavia waived by Baltimore Ravens ahead of training camp — On3, checked July 22, 2026
• Appeals panel upholds Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia's eligibility (Sixth Circuit dismisses NCAA appeal as moot) — ESPN, checked July 22, 2026

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So what now

Waivers are not the end of the story so much as its cliffhanger. A quarterback-hungry team could file a claim; more likely, if he clears, Pavia becomes a free agent who can sign a practice-squad or camp deal somewhere his skill set fits better. Undrafted quarterbacks have built careers from exactly this kind of setback, and few players in the league have a thicker file on turning a "no" into a "watch me."

For now, the facts are narrow and worth stating plainly: waived, not released; on the waiver wire, not signed elsewhere; a Heisman runner-up, not a winner. Everything past that is the next chapter, and this is a developing story. The journey above is the reason anyone's paying attention — and the reason "cut before camp" reads less like an ending than a plot twist.