OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter’s message to undrafted free-agent quarterback Diego Pavia ahead of rookie minicamp was simple: “Show us what you can do,” Minter said.
The Ravens certainly know what Pavia did in college. He starred for two years at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he became the program’s first Heisman finalist and led the Commodores to their first season of double-digit wins in school history. In the process, Pavia became one of the most polarizing players in college football due to his swashbuckling style and his propensity to speak his mind unapologetically.
Pavia, though, went undrafted and didn’t initially get a guaranteed spot on a 90-man roster. That was presumably far more about his sub-NFL-standard size (5-foot-10, 203 pounds) and arm strength than any concerns about his personality and behavior. The Ravens invited him to their rookie minicamp as a tryout player before deciding later in the week to add both him and UConn undrafted quarterback Joe Fagnano.
“Diego, just like a lot of the undrafted free agents, is trying to make his mark,” Minter said Saturday. “It’s just so much learning, so much about getting acclimated to how we operate, getting acclimated to a new offense (from) a quarterback’s perspective. I know the program that he came from. I know a lot of people that worked with him. Kind of what I think he is as a person is a really, really hard worker.
“I think he really helped elevate that program in the SEC by playing against really good competition. And so now he’s in the door, and it’s like, show us what you can do, let the chips fall where they may.”
Minter spent one year as the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt, and one of his best friends is Commodores head coach Clark Lea. That relationship probably has plenty to do with why the Ravens were open to bringing Pavia in. There’s also the matter of the Ravens previously having just two quarterbacks on their roster.
They’ll want to go into training camp in July with at least three, if not four, especially if Minter doesn’t plan to play Lamar Jackson much in the preseason. If they take only three, the rookie minicamp over the weekend essentially marked the start of the roster competition between Pavia and Fagnano.
“That’s a little bit in flux, I would say,” Minter said when asked how many quarterbacks he’d like to carry over the next couple of months. “We’ll look at it coming out of this. I think there’s a place for anywhere from three to five, honestly, especially for the offseason, just to kind of make sure that we have everything covered, and we’re getting guys different looks and kind of what we’re looking for.”
Minter acknowledged that the Ravens could also look at bringing in a veteran. Their free-agent options include Taylor Heinicke, who was with Minter and pass game coordinator Marcus Brady for parts of the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers; Clayton Tune, who was with Ravens quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork for two seasons in Arizona; and Josh Dobbs, who spent a year with Woolfork and the Cardinals.
Signing a veteran would obviously not bode well for Pavia and Fagnano’s chances to stick, nor would the Ravens’ making a bunch of roster moves in the coming days. Carrying four quarterbacks would then become prohibitive.
That’s why there’s no guarantee that Pavia or Fagnano will be here long. Minter wants Pavia to show the team what he can do, and there’s no time to waste.
Nothing to worry about yet
The Ravens worked quickly to get 10 of their 11 draft picks under contract, essentially agreeing to all of those deals within the first 36 hours or so after the rookie class got into the building for the start of minicamp.
The lone unsigned player is second-round outside linebacker Zion Young, who is still taking part in the workouts despite not having finalized his contract. That Young isn’t yet signed has already created some angst with fans, although there’s nothing to fret over, at least not yet.
The draft was just over a week ago, and there’s plenty of time to get things done. The Ravens didn’t have their entire draft class signed last year until July 17, when second-round outside linebacker Mike Green agreed to terms. Green took part in the various minicamps and offseason workouts without a completed deal.
There’s also a reason for Young being the one who is unsigned. Under the current slotting system, there is very little room to negotiate on rookie contracts. The exception is in the second round, after the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans gave the first two selections of that round last year, linebacker Carson Schwesinger and wide receiver Jayden Higgins, fully guaranteed deals. That’s prompted agents of second-round picks over the last two drafts to ask for the same, which is why there was a delay in second-round picks getting signed last year, and there figures to be another one this year.
‘There isn’t much to it’
Veteran John Simpson, whom the Ravens signed to a three-year, $30 million deal in March, has primarily played left guard. Rookie Vega Ioane, whom the Ravens selected 14th overall last month, also primarily played left guard at Penn State. That means that one of them will have to move to right guard as part of the Ravens putting their best offensive line on the field.
If he’s the guy to move to the right side — and he presumably will be — Ioane doesn’t foresee it being a problem.
“It’s definitely a little bit of work to get used to again, but there isn’t much to it,” Ioane said after Saturday’s workout.
Offensive linemen talk all of the time about how switching sides, whether it’s at the guard or tackle spots, is a bigger adjustment than outsiders may think. Ioane and the Ravens, though, have time on their side. Ioane has multiple weeks of organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp to get re-acquainted. He also has all of training camp and the preseason.
Ioane also has experience playing right guard. While all of his college starts came at left guard, Ioane did log 314 snaps at right guard at Penn State, so it isn’t new to him. He said Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein regularly rotated his guards between the left and right side, “just to get used to it.”
Front and center
The only natural center on the Ravens’ rookie minicamp roster was Penn State undrafted free agent Nick Dawkins. The Ravens had other players taking snaps at the position. Tryout player Gus Zilinskas started 41 games at center for Rutgers. Seventh-round pick Evan Beerntsen was attractive to the Ravens because he can play three offensive line spots, including center.
It seems unlikely that the Ravens would vault an undrafted rookie or even a rookie seventh-round pick over their internal veteran options, which include Danny Pinter, Corey Bullock and Jovaughn Gwyn. It remains possible, if not probable, that Baltimore’s 2026 starting center arrives via a trade.
On that front, colleague Mike Sando brought up an interesting name last week: Chicago Bears veteran center Garrett Bradbury. The Bears acquired Bradbury from the New England Patriots in March for a 2027 fifth-round pick. Chicago, meanwhile, just selected Iowa center Logan Jones in the second round, suggesting that it could envision him as a plug-and-play guy. Jones will turn 25 in October, so this may not be your prototypical “sit for a year and learn from a veteran” situation.
Obviously, the Bears will want to evaluate how Jones looks in practice and how ready he appears. There’s also not a team in the NFL that believes it has too much offensive line depth and is eager to trade from it. However, you have to wonder if the Ravens could entice them with an offer that would at least recoup, if not better, the pick the Bears gave up for Bradbury.
Why would that make so much sense for the Ravens? One, Bradbury is a solid, experienced option (105 career NFL starts) and played for the AFC’s Super Bowl representative last year. And two, Bradbury’s offensive line coach for three years at NC State was Dwayne Ledford, who is in his first year as the Ravens’ offensive line coach and is an influential voice for the team’s decision-makers.
Other notes
• All 11 of the Ravens’ rookie draft picks were participating in Saturday’s workout, a departure from recent seasons where Baltimore has had certain players still nursing pre-draft injuries or sidelined with physical issues stemming from Day 1 of minicamp.
• The Ravens currently have 89 players on their roster, with the final open spot presumably earmarked for veteran defensive end Calais Campbell. Minter confirmed Saturday that the Ravens have agreed to terms with Campbell, who is expected at the team facility this week to take a physical and sign his one-year deal worth roughly $5.5 million. That means that if the Ravens want to sign a few of the tryout guys from their rookie minicamp — and they had about two dozen of them there — they’ll have to release players to make room.
• One interesting name among the tryout guys was New Mexico kicker Luke Drzewiecki. He made 18 of his 19 field goal attempts in his final college season, although none of his kicks were from 50-plus yards. He also made all 36 of his extra-point tries. Ravens decision-makers have repeatedly backed young kicker Tyler Loop, and Minter was noncommittal earlier this offseason when asked if the Ravens would bring in competition for Loop. However, they’d certainly be opening themselves up to criticism if they didn’t with the way last season ended. Whether it’s adding a rookie like Drzewiecki or signing a veteran, Baltimore probably could benefit from seeing how Loop responds to being pushed this summer.
• Ravens undrafted free agent Ty Pezza was a wide receiver at Brown University, and he led the Bears last year with 46 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. Pezza, however, will make the move to tight end for the Ravens. He’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, so size shouldn’t be an issue.
