Cincinnati Bengals fans can expect to see their star defensive end Joseph Ossai in the next NFL season, according to the player himself, though his schedule for offseason workouts has yet to be set.
He appeared to sustain a knee injury during the Chiefs’ AFC Championship game loss. After the game, the defensive end stated that he injured his left knee in the occurrence with Patrick Mahomes, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty and helping the Chiefs win the game on a field goal.
Statement from Joseph Ossai about his injury
As a pivotal member of the Bengals’ rotation up front, Ossai’s injury has undoubtedly caused the team a lot of headaches. On December 11, just before suffering the knee injury, he had to leave the Cincinnati-Cleveland game in Week 14 due to a shoulder injury. In order to repair the torn shoulder, he underwent surgery after that in February. On Monday, he updated the media on the injury’s development.
“If it was up to me, I’m ready to go,” he told the reporters.
His shoulder injury is therefore not a cause for concern, however, what about his knee injury? The Bengals’ star player recently told Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic that he is prepared for camp, though the trainers will decide whether or not to let him participate.
“I’m progressing really well,” he said. “Going on Week 12 right now, I think it’s a 5-month thing, so I should be great for camp. OTAs to at least walk around. I’m speculating, but I’ll leave that up to the trainers.”
The 23-year-old was chosen by the Bengals with the 69th overall pick in the 2021 draft, but he missed all of his rookie season due to a preseason knee injury. He headed back in 2022, participated in each of the 16 games, and finished the campaign with 17 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
The DE played in 36 games for Texas before joining the Bengals, making 24 starts. He received an honorable mention for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year awards in 2020.
In contrast to his return in 2022 following a preseason injury, it is anticipated that the former star player from Texas will come back to the field cutting out his recent injury problem.
