Commanders

Commanders add DE depth, sign Efe Obada

Commanders

Though the Washington Commanders made quite the free agency splash last week, the club isn’t done gearing up for the 2022 season. They’ve signed defensive end Efe Obada to an unspecified contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Obada, 29, will enter his fifth NFL season this year and should provide a nice depth piece at DE behind Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Obada played for three years in Carolina, two of which overlapped with Ron Rivera’s tenure there. In 2020, he tallied 5.5 sacks with the squad. The Commanders-Panthers pipeline holds true yet again as Rivera brings in a familiar face on the defensive front.

After three seasons as a Panther, Obada signed a one-year deal with the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills last April. He tallied 12 tackles and 3.5 sacks in Buffalo over the course of 10 games, contributing to a Bills team that allowed the league’s fewest receiving yards by a large margin.

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Obada’s life story is remarkable. He was born in Nigeria but moved to the Netherlands when he was eight years old to live with his mother, according to BBC.

Eventually, he got a chance to play for the London Warriors of the British American Football Association National Leagues. Per the Commanders' press release, Obada “entered the league through the NFL International Player Pathway Program becoming the first player from the program to make the 53-man roster,” which he did with Carolina in 2018.