It’s safe to say this New York Jets deal hasn’t aged like a fine wine, at least in the opinion of one writer.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report was tasked with “re-grading” the biggest signings from free agency earlier this offseason. One of the big splashes the Jets made was signing pass rusher Joseph Ossai to a three-year $34.5 million contract. Gagnon gave the Jets a “C” grade for this move.
“Take: When this guy is on, he looks like an elite potential No. 1 rusher. The problem is, he’s off a lot. A total of 14.5 sacks in four seasons means this is purely a gamble from a desperate Jets team in need of breaks beyond the draft to take that next step quickly. Then again, what do Aaron Glenn and the Jets have to lose?” Gagnon openly asked.
Things Haven’t Gone Well so Far But…
When Ossai was originally signed back in March, the signing didn’t move the needle for many fans. The raw stats from his four years with the Cincinnati Bengals were pretty pedestrian.
He finished with 14.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and 44 quarterback hits. Ossai has only started 12 games in four years.
When training camp arrived, Ossai was immediately placed on the active physically unable to perform list due to a failed physical. That raised eyebrows and created questions on social media.
Has this Ossai Jets marriage started great? Honestly, no, but you don’t judge a multi-year contract investment on a couple of months in the offseason.
The proof will be in the pudding once the season arrives. If Ossai registers two sacks in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, no one is going to remember all of this noise from the offseason.
The good news is Ossai was activated off the PUP list and is slowly working his way back into both regular shape and football shape.
Ossai Speaks to the Media
For the first time since signing his deal, Ossai spoke to the media amid training camp. He said it was “great” to finally be back on the field with his teammates.
Ossai admitted that it was “frustrating” not being able to be out there with his teammates at the beginning of camp but said it was “needed.”
Ossai said that “while training in the offseason,” something happened that caused him to miss a chunk of training camp.
He didn’t describe what happened specifically. Interestingly, his teammate, T’Vondre Sweat, injured his hamstring while working out on his own. To start camp, he was placed on the NFI list. Players end up on that list if they hurt themselves away from the facilities.
So that didn’t happen with Ossai, or he would have landed on that list.
“The physically unable to perform list, better known as PUP, is a designation for players who are physically unable to perform football services due to football-related injuries. These players can participate in team activities but are not allowed to practice,” NFL Media Group researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno wrote.
Ossai was asked about the difficulty of trying to play catch-up with his time missed.
“It can be a challenge, but I think for me, I’ve been doing it my whole life; I have to run my own race. Obviously they’ve had a bit of time underneath their belt; they’re a lot more conditioned and all that stuff, but I’ve got to focus on the 1%,” Ossai explained.
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