The Panthers have signed defensive end Efe Obada to a new one-year deal, per a club announcement. Obada was set to be an exclusive rights free agent, so he wouldn’t have been able to sign with another club anyway.
The Panthers are still searching for their next head coach, so it’s unlikely that the new pact includes significant guarantees. After all, their next HC might not be as high on Obada as current GM Marty Hurney.
Obada was born in Nigeria and did not play football at the collegiate level. In 2014, he hooked on with the London Warriors of the British American Football Association and wound up joining the Cowboys’ practice squad in 2015 as a part of the international pathway program. Finally, in 2018, he became the first international pathway program player to crack a 53-man roster when he was activated by the Panthers.
In 2019, Obada registered 24 total tackles and one pass defensed while appearing in all 16 games.