Joseph Ossai will not return to the Bengals in 2026. The pass rusher’s first trip to free agency will instead send him to New York.
Ossai and the Jets have agreed to terms, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. This will be a three-year pact worth $36MM, Schultz adds. Ossai will receive $22.5MM fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Expectations will be high for notable production off the edge in this case for 2026 and beyond as a result.
A third-round pick in 2021, Ossai spent his entire four-year career in Cincinnati. He had a part-time role through his first two years in the NFL but took on more responsibility in 2024. He finished that campaign with 46 tackles and five sacks while getting into about 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
He started a career-high nine games this past year, finishing with 43 stops and five sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him 70th among 119 qualifying edge defenders, with the site being most bullish on his run-stopping ability.
He’ll have a chance at a three-down role in New York. The Jets needed to add some pass-rush help following the Jermaine Johnson trade. At the very least, Ossai will contribute on third-down, but the Jets lack of defensive depth (and the team’s financial commitment) means he should see a full-time role for his new squad.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
I loved Ossai coming out of Texas and thought Cincinnati got themselves a steal (and it sure seemed like they had early in his career) but this number seems crazy to me given his sack numbers and inconsistent play over the years.
Hope it works out for both sides.
Eeeesh
I think this is reasonable even if it’s eye popping. This is where the market is. Solid two way player at a position where you want a rotation and the Jets are lacking.
Now watch him start racking up 10-15 sacks a year. Best of luck to him I’ll miss the guy, it looked like he was finding another gear