The Bills are signing former Panthers defensive lineman Efe Obada to a one-year deal, per Jonathan Jones at CBS Sports.
Obada came to Carolina in 2018 via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, which he’s become the face of. Over the next three seasons, he played 42 games in Carolina, primarily in a backup role – only starting once.
He had a breakout 2020 season, though. With multiple injuries up front Obada earned a bigger role and took advantage of the increase in snaps. He went from 28% in 2019 up to 39% last year. He posted career highs in sacks (5.5), QB hits (15) and tackles for a loss (four) while lining up inside as well as on the edge.
Buffalo’s rising star general manager Brandon Beane has made a habit of signing former Carolina defensive linemen. At the moment both Mario Addison and Vernon Butler are on their roster. It’s almost surprising that they haven’t signed Kawann Short. Yet.
In any case, the Bills are getting a versatile young lineman and a grade-A human being. Obada shared a classy message of farewell for Carolina on social media a short time ago:
Thank you Carolina 💙🙌🏿 pic.twitter.com/LJi1bXzxJw
— Efe Obada (@EfeObadaUK) March 24, 2021
Losing Obada isn’t ideal for the Panthers’ defensive line, promising though it may be. However, the recent signings of Haason Reddick, Morgan Fox and Frankie Luvu should help.
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