{"id":883789,"date":"2026-05-06T07:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T07:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/883789\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T07:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T07:18:16","slug":"diego-pavia-urged-to-give-up-on-johnny-manziel-friendship-to-save-his-nfl-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/883789\/","title":{"rendered":"Diego Pavia Urged to Give Up On Johnny Manziel Friendship To Save His NFL Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes it takes more than just talent and grit to be a lock in the NFL. Specifically, character. That\u2019s part of what people believe may have left Diego Pavia out of the draft. And now, his friendship with former Heisman QB Johnny Manziel<\/a> is adding more fuel to the fire. So, when Skip Bayless pointed out the complication of this relationship, it wasn\u2019t subtle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Johnny Manziel moved to Nashville? That\u2019s Diego\u2019s idol, and he\u2019s been partying with Johnny,\u201d Skip Bayless told The Arena: Gridiron. \u201cYou know what the league thinks of that. If there\u2019s any doubt about you and you\u2019re hanging with Manziel, ummm, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not hard to see why some people are uneasy. A first-round pick in 2014, Johnny Manziel\u2019s career has become the cautionary tale that refuses to fade away. His lifestyle often created tension with the Cleveland Browns. After a disappointing rookie season in 2015, he spent 10 weeks in rehab for alcohol and drug issues.<\/p>\n

Later that year, while recovering from a concussion, he reportedly flew to Las Vegas<\/a> in disguise the night before a game and missed a medical check-in the next morning. These off-field controversies ultimately led to his release ahead of the 2016 season. That was the end of his NFL career. He later joined the CFL, but he couldn\u2019t stick with any team for long, and his football career ended in 2022.<\/p>\n

Now, Diego Pavia, like Johnny Manziel once did, brings two questions into every room. Size and maturity. There\u2019s no doubt about his talent, but the NFL has never just been about what you do between the lines. It\u2019s about whether teams trust you when no one\u2019s watching. Still, he doesn\u2019t see Manziel as a warning but as a resource.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s giving me what to look out for, what it\u2019s like, how to stay in the process,\u201d he said of Johnny Manziel at the combine. \u201cAnd, you know, he\u2019s given me some good advice, for sure. And he always reaches out, too, checks up on me, makes sure I\u2019m good, and he just, like, he\u2019s just a friend to me, you know? And so he\u2019s giving me some mentorship. He\u2019s been around me, he\u2019s been around my family. He\u2019s just a great person for those that really don\u2019t know him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL evaluates your risk level, and all these stories might have played a role in Diego Pavia\u2019s draft slide. Because what he did at Vanderbilt should have made this whole conversation irrelevant. He led the Commodores to a 10-2 regular season with a Heisman runner-up finish. But it only got him a minicamp invite with the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, where he ultimately signed.<\/p>\n

That disconnect is why Skip Bayless and plenty of others pushed back so hard, although he is a supporter. He even argued months earlier that Diego Pavia deserved the Heisman over Fernando Mendoza \u201cfor his performance on the field, even if his swagger and edge rubbed some voters and viewers the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diego Pavia didn\u2019t really stay low ahead of the NFL Draft. Aside from his New York party, where he dissed Indiana after the Heisman loss, he was also seen partying in the Albuquerque nightclub<\/a>, which questioned his reputation further. And Bayless isn\u2019t the only one who\u2019s concerned about his friendship with Johnny Manziel.<\/p>\n

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Analyst questions Diego Pavia\u2019s personality<\/p>\n

Dan Patrick didn\u2019t even bother with subtlety. On his show, he put Diego Pavia\u2019s draft slide as a message, not a mistake. If you\u2019re not a can\u2019t-miss prospect, professionalism is the baseline. And in his view, the QB didn\u2019t clear it. He didn\u2019t dance around the size issue<\/a> either. Backup QBs, he pointed out, are rarely undersized. And more importantly, they\u2019re rarely noticeable.<\/p>\n

The NFL doesn\u2019t want its QB2 making headlines. And yes, Johnny Manziel\u2019s shadow hangs over his observation. Not because he\u2019s actively hurting Diego Pavia, but because he represents what happens when talent and discipline drift apart.<\/p>\n

In the NFL, a backup quarterback is supposed to be invisible. You want a quiet, hardworking guy standing on the sidelines holding a clipboard, ready to step in during an emergency. You absolutely do not want your backup making headlines for throwing cash at late-night parties.<\/p>\n

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That is the harsh reality Dan Patrick pointed out. Manziel isn\u2019t actively telling Pavia to fail, but simply being associated with him tells NFL owners that Pavia might bring unnecessary drama to the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball moves on quickly,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cJust as Johnny Manziel, it moves quickly. \u2026 But Diego Pavia has a personality, but he doesn\u2019t have a personality that I want as my backup quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pavia now faces a hard choice. He can keep treating Manziel as a mentor and hope his undeniable talent on the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 practice field is enough to make teams ignore the noise. Or, he can listen to the loud warnings from veterans like Bayless and Patrick.<\/p>\n

The NFL does not wait around for players to grow up. If Pavia wants a lasting career, he might have to finally step out of Manziel\u2019s shadow and walk the rest of this road alone.<\/p>\n

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The post Diego Pavia Urged to Give Up On Johnny Manziel Friendship To Save His NFL Career<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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