Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots , we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.
Today, the always exciting Joseph Ossai gets the spotlight. Ossai, who moved to Houston, TX from Nigeria at just nine years old, has had his moments over the last three years, but injuries have almost always gotten in the way of his career truly taking off. Is this the year he finally puts it all together and stays on the field?
Joseph Ossai
- Age: 24
- Year: 4th
- Position: Edge defender
- College: Texas
- Previous Teams: None
- Jersey Number: 58
Ossai was drafted by the Bengals with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent three years at Texas and played every single season starting with 14 games as a true freshman in 2018. He started the last two games of the year which kicked off a 24-game starting streak for the remainder of his Longhorn career. As a 13-game starter in 2019, he led Texas in the big three stats: tackles (90), tackles for loss (13.5), and sacks (5) and was an All-Big 12 honorable mention. He started nine games in the shortened COVID-19 season of 2020 but once again led the team with five sacks. His 16 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles led the entire conference as he earned First Team All-Big 12 honors and consensus First Team All-America honors. He declared for the 2021 draft with one year of eligibility remaining.
The drafting of Ossai was a part of the Bengals' plan to reinvigorate the pass rush following Carl Lawson's departure. Ossai would join forces with veteran Sam Hubbard and newly-signed Trey Hendrickson and Larry Ogunjobi to provide more pressure to opposing quarterbacks. The plan worked, but Ossai wasn't even a part of it as he suffered a torn meniscus 33 snaps into his first-ever preseason game in 2021.
Ossai made a full recovery and played the entirety of 2022, including all three postseason games. He ended up with 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries in 418 snaps primarily taken off the right edge. His most memorable snap was unfortunately his last of the season in the AFC Championship game as he chased Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of bounds too aggressively and was flagged with unnecessary roughness. The penalty put the Chiefs into field goal range and ultimately ended the Bengals' run at back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
What's lost from that game is the fact that Ossai was one of the best players on the field. He tallied four pressures and two QB hits on just 20 pass-rushing snaps. The ending aside, his performance sparked belief that a breakout season was in store for him in 2023. Unfortunately, another preseason injury snuffed that momentum as he missed the first two weeks of the regular season and only played 177 snaps all year. He fell to the fifth spot in the edge rotation behind the two starters, first-round pick Myles Murphy, and fellow 2021 draft pick Cam Sample.
Contract details
Ossai is entering the last year of his four-year, $5,192,616 rookie contract. He will earn a base salary of $1,368,084 for the 2024 season.
When adding on the $1,136,448 signing bonus that has been prorated throughout the entirety of his deal, Ossai's cap hit for the season will be $1,652,196.
Roster outlook
Hype has followed Ossai since the day he arrived in Cincinnati. 2022 showed the potential of what he could be in a prominent rotational pass-rushing role. The Bengals need that version of him and then some this season.
Developments at the edge position have only elevated Ossai's importance before the season begins. Hendrickson and Hubbard each suffered minor training camp injuries that allowed Ossai to take more reps in practice. Add on Sample's season-ending achilles tear and Jeff Gunter's surprising retirement, and Ossai is clearly one of the top four edges on the roster. He'll get plenty of reps to finish his rookie contract on a high note.
Projected role: Second edge off the bench
Previous player breakdowns
Related: Bengals Roster Breakdown: Cedric Johnson may force Cincinnati to think about the long game on the edge
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