Baltimore Ravens Head Coach Jesse Minter Evaluates QB Diego Pavia

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter appeared on the NFL Network on Wednesday morning and spoke about adding Pavia to the quarterback room. Minter, who was Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator in 2021 and is close friends with Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, is well aware of Pavia’s time with the Commodores.

“This guy was a force multiplier at Vanderbilt,” Minter said. “He came there at a time when they needed to get it going and Clark was building something. And this guy made everybody in the building better. He's one of the first people in, he's one of the last to leave. He's a really hard worker.”

Pavia’s play deserves praise, but he’s made his fair share of polarizing decisions. After finishing runner-up in Heisman voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Pavia made a social media post criticizing Heisman voters, ending with Pavia ultimately apologizing for being disrespectful. Minter and the Ravens will be hoping Pavia learned from that lesson and allow his play to do the talking instead. He isn’t QB1 any longer and will have to scratch and claw to even make the roster.

“We’ll certainly have some talks about maybe how to handle certain things a little bit better. But, again, any rookie undrafted free agent -- come in and work,” Minter said. “Let what you do on the field and by your actions show who you really are. We’ll let him come in with a little bit of a clean slate and just give him a platform, along with the rest of the guys coming in, give them a platform to see what they can do.”

Pavia, who stands 5-foot-10 and 203 pounds, is considered undersized at quarterback but his toughness and athleticism could help him stick around in the NFL. If Pavia impresses in Baltimore, he could provide a dual-threat option if Lamar Jackson were to miss time, allowing the offense a seamless transition schematically. The Ravens signing Pavia as an undrafted free agent represents a low risk and potentially high reward decision.