- The Washington Times - Monday, April 27, 2020

The locker room in Ashburn, Virginia, just got a bit more culturally diverse thanks to one new addition.

The Washington Redskins were assigned David Bada, a defensive lineman from Munich, Germany, as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

The NFC East was chosen for the fourth year of the program, which gives players from other countries a shot at making an NFL roster. Four teams are allocated a player each year, and they’re allowed an 11th practice squad spot to keep that player for up to two seasons.

In 2017 the Carolina Panthers were the first team to sign a Pathway player straight to the 53-man roster and play him in a regular-season game. That was Nigerian-British defensive end Efe Obada, who had previously bounced around the NFL, and the Panthers’ coach at the time was new Washington coach Ron Rivera.

The other option is for teams to decline the 11th spot but still sign the player to the practice squad, making him eligible to be signed to the 53-man roster later. The New England Patriots signed their Pathway player, fullback Jakob Johnson, off the practice squad last year and got him into some games before an injury ended his season.

Bada played in the German Football League, the top division of American football in the country, for the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. As part of the NFL’s program, he and other candidates worked out at the IMG Academy in Florida before being chosen for a team.

The Redskins’ NFC East rivals also were assigned Pathway players Monday. The New York Giants received Austrian running back Sandro Platzgummer. The Dallas Cowboys were given Mexican offensive lineman Isaac Alarcon Garcia. And the Philadelphia Eagles got Australian defensive end Matt Leo.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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