After going undrafted and not immediately signed as an undrafted free agent last weekend, former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has gotten an opportunity.
And that’s exactly what it is. An opportunity.
After initially being invited to participate in Baltimore’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, the Ravens signed Pavia to the 90-man offseason roster. It was hyped by some as a “three-year deal.” But that’s the standard deal, required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for undrafted players.
The key is the guarantees. Pavia, per multiple sources, received none. No signing bonus. No guaranteed salaries.
It’s not a low-risk proposition for Baltimore. It’s no risk. It’s a tryout with only the sliver of financial security that comes from the possibility of a serious injury during the rookie minicamp that would land Pavia on injured reserve.
If the Ravens like what they see from Pavia during the rookie minicamp, they’ll keep him. If they don’t, he’ll be gone.
Regardless, Pavia has gotten an opportunity. It’s now up to him to make the most of it.
Ravens Clips
Quarterbacks Diego Pavia and Joe Fagnano are officially on the roster in Baltimore.
Reports surfaced this week that both players would be signing with the Ravens after going undrafted and the deals were formalized on Friday. Pavia was the Heisman runner-up at Vanderbilt last season and Fagnano started 45 games at UConn.
They join Lamar Jackson and Snoop Huntley on the 90-man roster and will get a chance to show their on-field skills at this weekend’s rookie minicamp.
Pavia and Fagnano are part of a 19-player group of undrafted rookie additions. The Ravens also signed Wake Forest defensive back Ladarius Webb Jr., Memphis wide receiver Cortez Braham, Iowa defensive tackle Aaron Graves, Cincinnati cornerback Matthew McDoom, Eastern Michigan running back Dontae McMillan, Browns tight end Ty Pezza, Ole Miss tackle Diego Pounds, Auburn defensive back Jahquez Robinson, Maryland wide receiver Octavian Smith, Louisville tackle Trevonte Sylvester, Michigan State running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Miami (Ohio) safety Silas Walters, Charlotte linebacker Reid Williford, Syracuse defensive tackle Dion Wilson, Texas linebacker Ethan Burke, Penn State center Nick Dawkins, and Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca.
The Ravens are nearly done with signing their 2026 draft class.
Baltimore announced on Friday that seventh-round defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny has put pen to paper on his four-year rookie deal.
Benny, selected at No. at No. 250 overall, played his college ball at Michigan.
He appeared in 54 games with 16 starts over the course of his collegiate career, registering 12.0 tackles for loss with 4.0 sacks and one forced fumble.
Second-round edge rusher Zion Young is the remaining unsigned member of Baltimore’s 2026 draft class.
The Ravens have signed almost all of their draft picks ahead of Friday’s start to their rookie minicamp.
A flurry of signings on Thursday left them with nine of their 11 picks under contract, including third-round pick Ja’Kobi Lane. The wideout had 49 catches for 745 yards and four touchdowns during his final season at USC.
The Ravens also signed fifth-round cornerback Chandler Rivers and sixth-round punter Ryan Eckley in their final wave of agreements. First-round guard Vega Ioane, fourth-round wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, fourth-round tight end Matt Hibner, fifth-round tight end Josh Cuevas, fifth-round running back Adam Randall, and seventh-round offensive lineman Evan Beerntsen are the other picks who have signed their four-year deals.
Second-round edge rusher Zion Young and seventh-round defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny are the only unsigned members of the class.
The Ravens have signed six of their 11 draft choices.
The team announced the signing of first-round pick Vega Ioane on Thursday and announced five more later in the day. That group includes their previously reported agreement with fourth-round wideout Elijah Sarratt.
Sarratt’s fellow fourth-rounder Matt Hibner has also signed his four-year rookie deal. Hibner had 31 catches for 436 yards and four touchdowns in his final season at SMU.
The Ravens also signed fifth-round tight end Josh Cuevas, fifth-round running back Adam Randall, and seventh-round guard Evan Beerntsen. Randall’s pick drew some notice because Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was the one who chose him last weekend. It was the first time Bisciotti has selected a player since buying the team.
The Ravens have signed a second draft pick on Thursday.
Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com reports that wide receiver Elijah Sarratt has signed his four-year rookie deal. The Ravens made the Indiana product a fourth-round pick last weekend, No. 115 overall.
Sarratt followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana from James Madison. He caught 65 passes for 830 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2025 for the national champion Hoosiers.
The Ravens announced the signing of offensive guard Vega Ioane earlier in the day. The team made the 14th overall pick, and he will receive a fully guaranteed $24.2 million with a signing bonus of just over $14 million.
The Ravens have their top 2026 draft pick under contract.
The team announced the signing of guard Vega Ioane to a four-year contract on Thursday afternoon. Ioane was the 14th overall pick and he will receive a fully guaranteed $24.2 million with a signing bonus of just over $14 million.
The Ravens will also hold an option for a fifth season.
Ioane started 32 games at left guard for Penn State over the last three seasons and stands a strong chance of earning a starting job right out of the gate in Baltimore.
The Ravens have 10 other picks to sign before they’ll have their entire draft class wrapped up.
Calais Campbell will be back for a 19th NFL season.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Campbell will sign with the Ravens. It will be a one-year deal and it will be Campbell’s second stint with the Ravens.
Campbell’s first stint came from 2020-2002 and he had 113 tackles, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in that stretch. Campbell, who was the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year, had 43 tackles and 6.5 sacks while starting every game for the Cardinals last season. He’s also played for the Jaguars, Falcons and Dolphins after entering the league as a Cardinals second-round pick in 2008.
The timing of the deal means that Campbell’s signing will not factor into the formula for distributing compensatory draft picks for either the Ravens or the Cardinals.
Two years ago, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers added then-college quarterback Diego Pavia to their negotiation list. As Pavia begins to negotiate the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Ravens, the Blue Bombers remain willing to put their paperwork into action.
Via John Hodge of 3DownNation.com, the Blue Bombers have talked to Pavia’s reps about potentially playing in Canada.
“[Conversations] picked up a little bit, just educating them [about the CFL],” Winnipeg G.M. Kyle Walters told reporters on Wednesday.
“[Pavia’s representatives] were fine and receptive . . . but like all guys — guys with much lesser pedigrees than him — we all kind of get the same treatment prior to the NFL draft, which is, politely, ‘We’re focused on the NFL and we’ll see what shakes down.’”
Although some have trumpeted the notion that Pavia signed a “three-year deal” with the Ravens, that’s the standard term for UDFA deals as required by the CBA. He could be released at any time. And he could eventually need a landing spot in another league.
For now, the Blue Bombers are pressing the pause button.
“[H]e is an interesting prospect, and yes, we’ve been in contact with the agent, but it’s just very early, and now that he signed with Baltimore, I don’t think that it’s much of a conversation moving forward at this point,” Walters said.
Still, at some point, Winnipeg could be back on Pavia’s porch. And they have no qualms about his habit of speaking his mind.
“[Coach] Mike [O’Shea] and I, we’re old and we understand that young guys today change,” Walters said. “We’re not like old men yelling at clouds — we understand that young men today are different, and we get that. You’re not going to hold against him for being an individual, as long as it’s not a distraction to the team. . . .
“He’s got a big personality and he’d make [the communications staff’s] job harder, I’m sure, if he were to sign, but he’s an interesting young man that competes and is confident in himself, which at that position is not a bad thing.”
It’s not a bad thing. But at some point the question is how his game translates to the next level. If it doesn’t work in the NFL, the CFL is willing to give Pavia an opportunity.
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said after the draft that it was “unfortunate” that the team wasn’t able to add any help at center and that the cost of trading up to snag a prospect they liked was “probably prohibitive.”
DeCosta and the Ravens aren’t done looking for ways to address a spot that opened up when Tyler Linderbaum signed with the Raiders as a free agent. During an appearance on WBAL, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, DeCosta said that the team’s scouts do a “great job of finding players” and that could lead to a trade that increases the team’s options at the position.
“It didn’t work out for us this past weekend,” DeCosta said. “I think there may be some potential trades we can look at and some other things we can do to address that position.”
Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn and Corey Bullock are the current centers on the Ravens roster, but it sounds like we can expect that to change before the team hits the field for the first time this fall.
