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Ravens waive Diego Pavia to make room for Ethan Pocic ahead of camp
Baltimore cut the undrafted rookie quarterback on 23 July, trimming its 90-man quarterback group from five players to four as veteran centre Ethan Pocic officially joins on a one-year deal.
The Ravens have made an early training-camp roster adjustment by waiving undrafted rookie quarterback Diego Pavia, a move completed on 23 July to open a place for veteran centre Ethan Pocic.Source Source
What happened
Baltimore used Pavia’s departure to finalise Pocic’s arrival after the centre had agreed terms on a free-agent contract the previous week, with ESPN reporting the deal is for one year and can be worth up to US$4.5 million.Source Pavia had only joined the club in April as an undrafted free agent, despite having become the first Heisman Trophy finalist in 12 years to go undrafted.Source He got through the Ravens’ off-season programme before the waiver, but his rookie contract contained no signing bonus and no guarantees.Source The transaction reduced Baltimore’s quarterback count on the 90-man roster from five to four.Source Source Those four are Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Skylar Thompson and Joe Fagnano.Source Source ESPN and NBC Sports both framed the move as part of Baltimore’s roster shaping ahead of training camp, with the practical effect of trimming the quarterback room by one.Source Source
Why it matters
As roster moves go, this is a back-end swap rather than a shake-up at the top of the depth chart, but it is still a clear example of Baltimore choosing to spend a camp place on a veteran lineman instead of a fifth quarterback.Source Source Pocic’s arrival therefore represents a deliberate use of a finite 90-man slot on the offensive line.Source Source That decision comes after an 8-9 2025 season in which the Ravens finished second in the AFC North, scored 424 points, conceded 398 and went 3-3 in division games plus 5-7 against AFC opponents.Source It also leaves Jackson in the remaining quarterback group after a 2025 campaign in which he posted 2,549 passing yards, 21 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 103.8 quarterback rating, while adding 349 rushing yards and two rushing scores.Source So the significance here is less about Baltimore’s starter and more about how the club is allocating its fringe roster spots ahead of camp and the pre-season schedule.Source Source Source Pavia’s release is notable because his college record was unusually strong for an undrafted addition.Source In his final season at Vanderbilt, he ranked second in the FBS with 334.8 total yards per game, led the programme to a 10-3 record that marked its first double-digit-win season, threw 29 touchdown passes, ran for 10 more and collected first-team All-American honours, SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.Source For Pavia, the decision closes a brief Ravens stint that lasted from his April signing through the completion of the off-season programme.Source Source The move also turns a spring story about a high-profile undrafted quarterback into a straightforward roster-count decision ahead of training camp.Source Source
What's next
Pavia now goes through waivers, and if no team claims him he will become an unrestricted free agent.Source For Baltimore, the next fixtures on the calendar are already set, beginning with a home pre-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium on 16 August.Source The Ravens are then scheduled to open the regular season away to the Indianapolis Colts on 13 September, with a Week 3 meeting with the Dallas Cowboys at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 27 September also on the 2026 schedule.Source
Notes
The unresolved piece is simply Pavia’s immediate destination, because that will depend on whether another club makes a waiver claim.Source On Baltimore’s side, the concrete result of the move is a four-quarterback room and a newly opened place for Pocic on his one-year contract.Source Source
Key facts
6 data pointsSources used in this piece
5 sources