The New York Jets have agreed to terms with former Bengals DE Joseph Ossai on a 3 year/$36M deal, with $22.5M guaranteed, per Adam Schefter.
Ossai was originally a 3rd round pick by the Bengals in 2021. As a rookie, he was expected to serve in a rotational role, but suffered a season ending injury during the preseason.
In 2022, he did play as a rotational rusher. He was able to pick up 3.5 sacks in his first true season.
Touted for his athletic upside, Ossai’s career got off to a slow start. However, a hot spell late in the 2024 season prompted the Bengals to bring him back on a 1 year deal. But like in the previous season, his flashes in 2025 only turned into consistency later in the year.
Bringing him back was on the table, but price was something to factor in. While the flashes have been nice, his general lack of consistency made it tough to match this kind of offer. Especially with the Bengals needing a revamp on defence, it is understandable to see them content to spend the money elsewhere.
Ossai finishes his time with the Bengals with 14.5 sacks, and will now look to build on it in New York with the Jets.
The Bengals will also be losing TE Noah Fant, who has agreed to terms on a 2 year deal with the New Orleans Saints. At the time of writing this, the money has not been specified.
Fant was originally a 1st round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019, but ended up being traded to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2022 Russell Wilson trade. Last offseason, he signed a 1 year deal with the Bengals, hoping to add a different dimension to the offence.
While there were flashes of the talent he possesses, Fant struggled with fumbles. In fact, he had three that were nearly identical, all of which were returned for a TD by the defence.
Towards the end of the season, Fant was phased out, after seeing regular playing time earlier in the year, while Mike Gesicki saw an uptick in his usage. It seems like both sides were content to part ways here. Fant ends his time as a Bengal after putting up 34 receptions for 288 yards and 3 TD’s in stripes.
Not to be left out, G Cordell Volson will also be leaving. He has agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans on a 1 year deal worth up to $4.215M. $2.5M is guaranteed.
The price on this one surprises me a little, as Volson had to agree to a pay cut to remain with the Bengals, before then suffering a season ending injury in the preseason. However, he does bring a lot of starting experience, having started most games he’s been healthy for, since his rookie season.
Volson was originally drafted by the Bengals in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL draft. 48 of his 50 games played have been starts, as he was thrown into the fire early, much like Dylan Fairchild this past season.
Like Fairchild, Volson showed some good things early on, which led to optimism, despite also making his fair share of mistakes. However, unlike Fairchild, who was able to find consistency down the stretch, Volson often would follow up a couple of good games with one way on the other end of the spectrum.
Unable to keep waiting for him to level out his game, the Bengals drafted Fairchild to be his replacement. Volson was brought back to compete for a depth spot, but the injury killed his chances of that happening.
Volson will now look to build on his experience and win a spot with the Titans in September.
