What's next for Diego Pavia? Landing spots for former Heisman finalist, from second NFL chances to CFL to WWE

For the second time in three months, Diego Pavia faces an uncertain future in football.

At this time last year, Pavia was preparing for his final season at Vanderbilt, which resulted in him becoming the Commodores' first-ever Heisman Trophy finalist, leading an electric offense to a 10-3 record and racking up 3,539 passing yards and 862 rushing yards. Despite that collegiate success, though, Pavia hasn't found a home in the pros.

After going undrafted in April's NFL Draft, Pavia initially landed with the Baltimore Ravens, even signing a three-year deal with a chance to carve out an eventual role in the quarterback room behind Lamar Jackson. It was a short-lived opportunity. On Thursday, Pavia was waived, making it even more unclear where he could wind up.

Here's a look at some potential fits for Pavia around the NFL, in other football leagues and elsewhere.

MORE: Why the Ravens waived Diego Pavia before training camp

NFL landing spots

At this point in the offseason, most teams aren't looking for a quarterback; starters are penciled in for a majority of the NFL's 32 franchises, while others have enough young backups.

But if any teams are going to take a shot on Pavia, here are a few that might make sense.

Browns

Why not keep stacking up underachieving, but big-name quarterbacks? On one hand, the Browns have enough passers on their hands. Former Texans star Deshaun Watson is returning to action, the projected favourite to start in Week 1 despite his crippling contract. Shedeur Sanders didn't solidify himself as a potential starter in his 2025 opportunities, but did at least flash some talent. Dillon Gabriel hasn't proven much, but is still young and could be a fine NFL game manager someday. And rookie Taylen Green brings a lot of raw talent and athleticism, but has a lot to prove.

Signing Pavia would only make more of a mess in the 2026 Cleveland quarterback room. But chances are the Browns will not be good this season, owning a collection of impressive but young talent on both sides of the ball. Watson likely wouldn't have a long leash as a starter, and if Cleveland isn't optimistic about any of Sanders, Gabriel and Green becoming the long-term answer, taking another shot couldn't hurt.

After all, the expectation for the Browns is that if they don't find a quarterback answer this season, they'll draft one early in 2027. There's a slim chance that Pavia can prove his doubters wrong, but with how electrifying he was at Vanderbilt in 2025, perhaps his talent is something the Browns would gamble on.

Jets

Another year, another bleak Jets quarterback depth chart. Geno Smith, 35, is back in town and expected to be named the Week 1 starter in New York, but that shouldn't hold the team back from seeing what it has elsewhere while still undergoing a rough rebuild. Considering quarterback was a need for the Jets coming into the offseason, they've underwhelmed a bit in terms of who they brought in.

Smith is nothing more than a bridge starter to the next young gun, and fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik and second-year passer Brady Cook, who threw seven interceptions in five games last season, are the only other options. Chances are, the Jets don't have their quarterback of the future yet, making them a team that can afford to take a chance on a recent Heisman finalist.

Like the situation in Cleveland, Pavia could sign with the Jets, attempt to prove himself in training camp as a potential QB3 and hope his number is called at some point to showcase that he belongs in the NFL. If it didn't work out, the Jets can turn their sights back to Arch Manning and the 2027 class, anyway.

Panthers

The only "contender" listed here is the Panthers — and the thought about signing Pavia is less about the chances of him truly seeing the field vs. adding some insurance for Bryce Young, who still has more to prove.

Carolina finally took a step forward in 2025, making the NFC playoff bracket. Young had his best season yet, but a career-high 11 interceptions and a so-so 3,011 passing yards still aren't enough to justify his former No. 1 overall pick price tag. Young may be in his best spot as a professional quarterback yet — but he's still not close to a player who could lead Carolina to Super Bowl contention.

The Panthers brought in Kenny Pickett to back up Young in 2026. Pickett should capably fill the QB2 role as a former starter, but why not put a little more pressure on Young by bringing in a bigger-name backup? Pavia would have a path to a QB3 role, and if he impressed in training camp followed by more struggles for Young this season, perhaps he'd even get a chance on the field by Week 18.

The Panthers probably don't need the added drama of signing Pavia coming off a stronger 2025 season, but Young still hasn't truly proven himself as a long-term answer. They could make the move to deepen their depth chart, give Young a jolt and double-down on shorter quarterbacks.

Dolphins

File the Dolphins away as another team with a set-in-stone 2026 starter, but long-term questions at quarterback. The hope in Miami is that Malik Willis' flashes as a backup in 2025 were no fluke, and he can become a dynamic, two-way passer with a new system. But what happens if Willis struggles in his first year as a Dolphin?

Expectations aren't too high for the 2026 season, meaning if Willis doesn't prove to be the answer, the Dolphins could experiment a bit. Right now, they also have Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski in the quarterback room. With respect to Miller's two FCS titles, Pavia reached heights as an individual college talent that the rest of those names did not.

Pavia's athleticism also somewhat aligns with the system Miami will be building for Willis: not much of a long-range passer, but a capable timing-and-accuracy quarterback in shorter ranges who offers a true threat on the ground.

If Willis doesn't work out, Pavia could at least make the Dolphins entertaining in 2026. Nobody's saying he'd become the new franchise quarterback, but he'd at least have a chance to succeed in Miami.

MORE: Raiders sign Fernando Mendoza to rookie contract

Non-NFL football options

Realistically, considering Pavia didn't draw much interest as an undrafted free agent, there's a chance an NFL team isn't currently willing to sign him.

If not, he could still make some potentially bigger noise by taking the field for another football league.

CFL

If he doesn't draw NFL interest, Pavia's rights do currently belong to another pro team, should he choose that route.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League have Pavia on their "negotiation list," meaning his rights are held by the team. If Pavia chose to enter the CFL, he'd have to go through Winnipeg first. 

Unlike spring football leagues, the 2026 CFL season has already begun, running through the Grey Cup in November. Pavia could join the league mid-season and hope to be on the field as soon as possible.

UFL

There aren't many non-NFL professional football leagues in the U.S., but the UFL is the closest possible thing.

As the top spring league for pros, names like Hakeem Butler, Adrian Martinez and Deandre Baker are among the players who have appeared in the UFL either before or after attracting NFL interest. Pavia could easily become the biggest quarterback name to join the league, which began play in 2024 after the XFL-USFL merger.

Pavia would have to wait until spring 2027 to take the field, with this year's UFL season already over. But it's another opportunity for him to get professional-level reps and show NFL teams he's worth a chance.

After the NFL Draft, Pat McAfee called Pavia "the UFL QB Blueprint."

Other options 

Pavia likely wants to continue playing football, but perhaps he finds a new calling thanks to the persona he built at Vanderbilt. 

Here are other options for the former Commodores star.

Media

Like most athletes nowadays, Pavia always has the route of carving out a media career, capitalizing on his college success by becoming a college football voice online or on TV.

It's unlikely any big-name networks would be prepared to sign Pavia to a contract to immediately join a studio, but if he could find a home on another kind of show/podcast, he's a big enough name that there are surely fans who would find him entertaining. And perhaps Pavia could offer some intriguing insight into college football in 2026, fresh off his own career.  

WWE

Where else would Pavia's outgoing, say-anything personality shine but the WWE?

He'd bring plenty of eyes as a Heisman finalist-turned-wrestler and could likely continue making some good money as a professional athlete. How successful Pavia would really be as a wrestler is up for debate, but that wouldn't matter much.

If he wants somewhere to remain in the spotlight while playing into his personality, WWE should be calling.