{"id":21867,"date":"2025-05-03T11:25:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T11:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21867"},"modified":"2025-05-03T11:25:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T11:25:43","slug":"bengals-de-joseph-ossai-ready-to-play-wherever-they-need-me-on-defensive-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21867","title":{"rendered":"Bengals: DE Joseph Ossai ready to play \u2018wherever they need me\u2019 on defensive line"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Cincinnati<\/p>\n

Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai said he hadn\u2019t been told he might be a solution to the team\u2019s lack of an interior pass rush, but he would line up anywhere just to get on the field more.<\/p>\n

Coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden, during separate press conferences on NFL Draft weekend, both presented using edge guys like Ossai and Cam Sample as options inside to add depth at defensive tackle.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati only added one defensive tackle this offseason, signing run-stuffer T.J. Slaton in free agency, and the Bengals did not take advantage of a deep defensive line class in the draft to address the position. At the conclusion of the draft, they had just four defensive tackles on the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Roles were) up in the air, and then there were a lot of missing pieces, a lot of question marks around a lot of people, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll figure it out, coming here soon, you know, when OTAs start in about a week,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out and get it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need me to play safety, I\u2019m back there, wherever they need me,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ll be the kicker. I\u2019ll get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

B.J. Hill has 16 sacks in his four years with the Bengals, but produced just 3.0 sacks last year. Slaton has just 2.0 career sacks after four years with the Packers, and second-year players Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson were known for their contributions in the run defense in college, not as pass rushers.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Ossai said he thinks it is valuable experience being able to play inside and outside, but there is a clear adjustment needed to go from doing one versus the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just understanding, I think everything happens a lot quicker inside, so that could work to your advantage or against you,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cIt\u2019s just adjusting, understanding that things happen a lot quicker. Not knocking those guys out there (on opposing offensive lines) because they\u2019re in the NFL, they\u2019re great athletes, but a tackle is a better athlete than a guard, so understanding that, using that to your advantage, just like knowing a guard is much stronger than a tackle, so then you kind of craft and use what you know, use what you\u2019re good at, and then go from there, make a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ossai just wants to do whatever he can to contribute after the Bengals re-signed him at the start of free agency. The 2021 third-round draft pick has had an up and down career so far, showing a ton of promise coming in as a rookie but having to miss his entire first year because of a knee injury suffered in the preseason.<\/p>\n

He returned to play a full season in 2022, producing 3.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in a rotational role, despite playing through a labrum tear suffered in December. Ossai then missed the first three games in 2023 because of a preseason ankle injury and struggled to emerge into a bigger role upon his return.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Last year, Ossai started slow but finished with all five of his sacks coming in the last seven games. The Bengals need him to build off that in 2025, to help close the gap in production between Trey Hendrickson, who led the league with 17.5 sacks last year, and the rest of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be an impactful player, wherever they need me, wherever they need me to be on the line,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what defense he\u2019s (Al Golden) up there cooking up, but if he needs me to stand up and do some things too, I can do that. You know, I have no problem playing, as long as I\u2019m playing, but just hoping to be impactful in this defense, hoping to help turn this around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ossai reported for offseason workouts looking noticeably stronger in his upper body. He said he didn\u2019t intentionally try to get bigger but he\u2019s put in a lot of work to come into the spring in the best shape possible to \u201chit the ground running.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old Texas product is hoping that momentum carries into the 2025 season. This offseason could be especially big for him and other returning edge rushers, while Hendrickson remains in a contract dispute and his future uncertain.<\/p>\n

They all need to be ready to step up when needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to, and it will, not just for me, but for the team,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cHopefully we get him (Trey Hendrickson) back, but we\u2019re missing a key piece of this defense right now in these workouts and stuff. So everybody has to pick up the workload and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai said he hadn\u2019t been told he might be a solution to the team\u2019s lack of an interior pass rush, but he would line up anywhere just to get on the field more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"\nBengals: DE Joseph Ossai ready to play \u2018wherever they need me\u2019 on defensive line - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21867\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bengals: DE Joseph Ossai ready to play \u2018wherever they need me\u2019 on defensive line - 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