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.
