Efe Obada Becomes Latest Ex-Panthers Player Added By Commanders

| American Football | 03/24/2022

The Washington Commanders continue to add players from Ron Rivera’s days with the Carolina Panthers.

Washington signed defensive end Efe Obada, who made his NFL debut in 2018 when Rivera and executive VP of football and player personnel Marty Hurney were in charge with Carolina. The move Wednesday came a week after the Commanders added another player from Rivera’s Panthers tenure in left guard Andrew Norwell.

Obada had 3 1/2 sacks and 12 tackles in 10 games with Buffalo during the 2021 regular season. The 29-year-old who was born in Nigeria and grew up in the United Kingdom first drew interest in 2015 and signed with Dallas, Kansas City and Atlanta but did not play.

He was the first player from the NFL International Player Pathway program to make a 53-man roster. In 52 regular-season games, Obada has 62 tackles and 11 sacks and he also made three tackles in a Bills playoff game this past year.

Adding Obada is just the latest in a series of moves Rivera has made to increase the Commanders‘ resemblance to the Panthers he coached from 2011-19.

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