Diego Pavia is like the Patrick Beverly of football. Any team that he is in would rally around him. But everyone else would simply hate his guts. There is a limit where self confidence crosses into arrogance. Pavia crossed that line long ago, and it doesn\u2019t look like he is stopping anytime soon.<\/p>\n
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After being the first Heisman finalist since 2014 to go undrafted, it appeared that he would be taking his talents to Canada. After signing with the Ravens, those conversations have also taken a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Conversations] picked up a little bit, just educating them [about the CFL],\u201d said Winnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 GM Kyle Walters on Wednesday<\/a>. \u201c[Pavia\u2019s representatives] were fine and receptive, but like all guys, with much lesser pedigrees than him, we all kind of get the same treatment prior to the NFL draft, which is, politely, \u2018We\u2019re focused on the NFL, and we\u2019ll see what shakes down.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the right time to educate players on the CFL when they\u2019re so dialed in on the NFL. But he is an interesting prospect, and yes, we\u2019ve been in contact with the agent, but it\u2019s just very early, and now that he signed with Baltimore, I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s much of a conversation moving forward at this point,\u201d added the GM.<\/p>\n As Pavia signed a three-year contract with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent on April 28, going to the CFL couldn\u2019t be a near-future plan. But the Ravens can release the former Vandy QB at any time if he doesn\u2019t perform or doesn\u2019t make their active roster or practice squad. That\u2019s where Diego Pavia\u2019s representative\u2019s connection with the Blue Bombers can come into play.<\/p>\n Since 2024, the CFL team has held Pavia\u2019s exclusive negotiating rights, and the GM called Pavia an \u201cinteresting prospect.\u201d The 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up had a highly productive season at Vanderbilt, where he recorded 3,539 yards and 29 TDs. He led Vanderbilt to its first-ever 10-win season and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n In 2024, he orchestrated a 40\u201335 upset over Alabama, the program\u2019s first win against a top-five opponent. Then he was named SEC Newcomer of the Year and Birmingham Bowl MVP after a five-TD performance against Georgia Tech. Despite these accolades, concerns\u00a0about\u00a0his 5-foot-10 stature<\/a> led to him going undrafted.<\/p>\n View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n Finally, he got the Baltimore opportunity, but he has a test to prove himself a right fit. And if he can\u2019t make that count, the Blue Bombers\u2019 opportunity is there. Even the CFL performance could help him for an NFL return. Just ask Doug Flutie. He is widely regarded as the greatest player in CFL history, setting the gold standard for NFL prospects who transition north.<\/p>\n Flutie famously used his CFL success to \u201crekindle\u201d his career, proving that the Canadian game could develop QBs for an NFL return. After his eight-year run in the CFL, he signed with the Buffalo Bills in 1998. That season, he earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year and a Pro Bowl nod after leading the team to the playoffs.<\/p>\n