Washington Redskins land German defensive lineman David Bada

The Washington Redskins are going to have a unique opportunity to develop some talent this season. David Bada will be with the team for the 2020 season as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program.

In the aftermath of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins still have a handful of roster spots left. They’ve only signed four undrafted free agents to date though more could be on the way in the coming days.

But on Monday, another player was added to their roster, and it’s a name that few people will be familiar with. It’s defensive lineman David Bada.

Bada was a player with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the German Football league. And the Redskins will be having him join the roster as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, as they communicated in an Instagram announcement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_fR6BhDbVD/

For those who aren’t familiar with the International Pathway Program, the NFL has a handful of athletes from foreign countries every year that they give a trial run with teams in the league. In 2020, there will be eight players from the program and since the Redskins got one, the other members of the NFC East should get one too as the league tends to allocate players by division. And an AFC division will also see each of its teams get a player.

Bada won’t count toward the Redskins’ 90-man roster. Essentially, he’s the 91st guy that they have. No matter what, they’ll be able to carry him for the full season. If he doesn’t make the 53-man roster or practice squad, the league creates a special 11th practice squad spot for the Pathway Program players. The players remain in that slot until the end of the season. The only catch is that if a team chooses to take the 11th spot on the practice squad, the IPP player can’t be added to the active roster at any point during the season.

So, in essence, if Bada performs really well, Ron Rivera and Co. will have to find a spot for him on the 53-man roster or choose to carry him on the practice squad as a player that can be activated. That’s what the New England Patriots did with tight end/fullback Jakob Johnson last year. They kept him on the practice squad but gave him the option of being activated. And he actually got into a few games before going down with an injury.

Rivera has direct experience dealing with this program. He discovered edge rusher Efe Obada through it and he was the first player from the program to appear in an NFL game. Perhaps Rivera will be able to get similar results from Bada if the D-Lineman can develop.

That said, given the immense depth on the Redskins defensive line, it seems most likely that he won’t make the roster or the practice squad. But with what essentially amounts to a year-long tryout, perhaps the Redskins will see enough growth from him to give him a shot to make the team in 2021.