4 recent Panthers departures who could make a playoff run in 2021
By Dean Jones
Efe Obada – Former Carolina Panthers DL
- 2021 team – Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills came extremely close to reaching the Super Bowl in 2020 after a tremendous campaign. Things appear to be well on the up for an organization that has plenty of former Carolina Panthers on the roster and the front office, with the scope for further growth next season not entirely out of the question.
Wrestling the AFC crown from the Kansas City Chiefs will be difficult, of that there is little doubt. However, if quarterback Josh Allen takes another leap forward in 2021, there won’t be much else standing in their way.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott – Carolina’s former defensive coordinator – looked to his old employers once again in free agency with the addition of Efe Obada on a one-year, $1.5 million deal with a $300,000 signing bonus and $800,000 guaranteed, according to Spotrac.
Obada enjoyed a career season last time around and few would argue he wasn’t deserving of this deal, even though it’s something the Panthers opted not to match despite it coming with little in the way of financial commitment.
If Obada can build on a promising campaign where he generated some notable pressure from the interior down the stretch, it might provide Buffalo with that extra boost they need to counteract the threat posed by Kansas City’s exceptional quarterback Patrick Mahomes.