Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai never strayed far from the team this offseason, kept in communication and ultimately signed what amounts to a one-year prove-it deal with the team in free agency.

Now, he’s looking forward to proving it.

Speaking with reporters at his free-agency presser this week, Ossai talked about many things, including the big loss of Sam Hubbard and the hope that Trey Hendrickson can return in 2025 despite the permission to seek a trade.

“I was in here working out for a month-and-a-half after the season and they talked about their vision for me and that gave me peace of mind with the decision even though they’re new,” Ossai said. “They see me doing what I was doing this last six, seven games with my motor. The way (Golden) was talking to me, he liked the way I played, and it sounded like he’s willing to give me a chance to use those attributes on the field in his defense.”

Clearly, Ossai likes the sound of things under new coordinator Al Golden and by all accounts, the plan is for him to technically play a starter’s chunk of snaps across from Hendrickson next year.

That’s a big nod to Ossai’s all-around development that seemed to kick into overdrive last season, especially as he started to fix a weakness against the run. He remains wicked-efficent as a pressure creator, so the Bengals clearly think he’s turned a corner at a young age, as he turns 25 next month.

Former first-rounder Myles Murphy will still be in the rotation too, of course. But Ossai’s development is clearly something the Bengals will bank heavily on in 2025.