Don't Call It a Prove-It: Bengals Defensive End Joseph Ossai Details Why He Signed a One-Year Deal To Come Back

Jay Morrison | Mar 14, 2025

Bengals Joseph Ossai (58) chases down Browns Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) during their game against the Browns at Paycor Stadium on Sunday December 22, 2024. The Bengals won the game with a final score of 24-6. / Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – Don’t call it a “prove-it” deal.

That was on the messages Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai wanted to deliver Friday after officially signing the one-year, $7 million contract he agreed to earlier in the week.

“That’s a loaded question for me,” Ossai said when asked if he views 2025 as a prove-it year. “Regardless of the contract, I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do this year. It didn't matter if it was a three-year or four-year or two-year or half-year contract for me, the way I thought about it 'I'm healthy, I know what I know, I've had my experiences, and I have God with me. So I'm gonna do what I do.' 

“I'm not really stressed about having to prove it,” he continued. “I'm just really focused on coming out here and attacking it and having this defense be a staple like it's been in the past like it was the year we went to the Super Bowl and the year (after). It was a great defense.”

A 2021 third-round pick, Ossai is coming off his best – and healthiest – season after posting career highs in sacks with five and games played with 17.

He officially became a free agent at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and he likely could have gone somewhere else and received a longer contract.

But Ossai stayed close, working out at the facility since the season ended and keeping tabs on the coaching changes, especially those that will affect him most with the hiring of Al Golden as defensive coordinator and Jerry Montgomery as his defensive line coach.

"You gotta believe!" - @joseph_ossai #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/qK0hda2Cov

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 14, 2025

Ossai knew his contract would not be negotiated in a vacuum. He is fully aware of other players such as Trey Hendrickson, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins that the Bengals are trying to sign to deals.

“My priority was to come back here,” Ossai said. “That's something I made clear to Al when he would talk to me, coach Montgomery when he would talk to me, and even Zac (Taylor). I would tell them my priority to come here and hopefully we can figure something out and get something done. 

“I was trying not to get my hopes up because I understand we have some dogs we've got to give some money to.”

Ossai spent a good portion of his news conference heaping praise on Hendrickson, who arrived in Cincinnati as a free agent the same offseason the Bengals drafted Ossai.

But Ossai would never play a game during that Super Bowl season after suffering knee and wrist injuries in the team’s second preseason game.

It was a difficult experience, and he Ossai has talked in the past about the depression it threw him into.

 And the injuries continued to mount in 2022 and 2023.

But Ossai said Hendrickson was one of the biggest reasons he had the kind of season he did in 2024, one that earned him $7 million.

“Man, he’s done so much for me,” Ossai said. “The biggest thing I would say is he helped me get over that mental hump from Year 3 to Year 4. It's no secret my first three years there were a lot of injuries. And even though I was healthy (in 2024), there's that mental battle of trying to mentally protect myself and not get in a situation where I'm hurt again or starting the season behind.

“He’s a great person,” Ossai continued in his praise of Hendrickson. “He’s everything I want to be, in his football life and his out-of-football life. I think the reason we gel so much is I look up to him. He enjoys that role of being a mentor. He says he doesn't. He'll say he hates it when people come up and talk to him. But he enjoys leading. He enjoys showing people the way.”

Ossai’s belief in himself, in Hendrickson and in the team as a whole is why he’s not viewing 2025 as a prove-it year.

The proof that Cincinnati is the right place for him already has been established.

“It's a great organization, and I believe in us. That's the most important part. I believe in us and what we have going. I believe in the players we have, even the pieces we brought in, I believe in them. If we're gonna do a one-year (contract), why not run it back?”

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