Commanders Sign Ex-Panthers, Bills DE to Deal

The Panthers-Commanders pipeline continues.

Jeremy Brener | Mar 25, 2022

The Washington Commanders added depth to the defensive line Wednesday, signing veteran Efe Obada to a deal. Terms of the deal were not initially disclosed.

USATSI_16643053 — Rich Barnes/USA Today Sports

Efe Obada

USATSI_15215285 — Denny Medley/USA Today Sports

Efe Obada chasing Patrick Mahomes

USATSI_15365981 — Brad Mills/USA Today Sports

Efe Obada

Obada, who turns 30 next month, has had a unique path in the NFL. Born in Nigeria, Obada moved to the Netherlands and was trafficked along with his sister to London 20 years ago. Both Obada and his sister were left homeless on the London streets and bounced around through the British foster care system.

In 2014, Obada played football for the first time at the age of 22 in the British American Football Association. The following year, Obada's 6-6, 265-pound build caught the attention of NFL teams, and by the recommendation of international Dallas Cowboys coaching intern Aden Durde, joined the NFL's International Player Pathway Program.

He bounced around practice squads in Dallas, Kansas City and Atlanta before finding a home with the Carolina Panthers in 2017.

Ron Rivera

The Panthers, coached by Ron Rivera, elevated him to the 53-man roster in 2018, making Obada the first International Player Pathway Program alum to play in a regular season game.

Obada stayed in Carolina until 2020 and he logged 5.5 sacks in a final season with the Panthers. That led him to signing a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in 2021, where he appeared in 10 games and recorded 3.5 sacks.

Now, he's come to D.C. to reunite with Coach Rivera in hopes to add depth to the defensive line, which already lost Matthew Ioannidis and Tim Settle earlier in the offseason.

Published Mar 25, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.