Buffalo Bills add depth at defensive end by signing Efe Obada
It wouldn’t be an offseason for the Buffalo Bills under Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane without signing a former Carolina Panthers player. The team did that on Wednesday by agreeing to terms with Efe Obada on a one-year deal, the team announced.
However, this is not the typical signing the Bills have made with former Panthers players. In the past, it has been veterans who are in the latter part of their careers. For Obada, he has the potential to break out with the Buffalo Bills.
Efe Odaba joined the Carolina Panthers in 2017 as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and he spent only one season on the team’s practice squad. This is the same program that Christian Wade went through to join the Buffalo Bills a few years ago.
He was added to the active roster in 2018 and saw his playing time steadily grow over the past three seasons. Obada played a career high 39% of the defensive snaps this past season. He would set a career-high in sacks with 5.5 as well as pressures with 21.
One of the reasons fans should be excited about Obada is that as the season went on last year, he looked to get more comfortable and the stats followed. He had 4.5 sacks and 13 pressures in the final seven games of the season.
While McDermott or Beane was not with the Carolina Panthers when Efe Odaba joined the franchise, defensive line coach Eric Washington knows him well. He was either defensive line coach or defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2019.
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While he may not see extensive playing time early on, he showed he can be productive in a rotation and with limited snaps. As the season goes on, he should continue to push veterans like Mario Addison. If he plays the way he did at the end of last season, it will be tough for McDermott and the coaching staff to keep him off the field.