Veteran edge Joseph Ossai made a significant impact on the field this summer although he is battling a foot injury. In the final preseason game against the Giants, Ossai ruptured the plantar fascia in one of his feet and head coach Aaron Glenn said he is "week to week."

"You'd rather have [a rupture] than a partial tear because it takes a lot of the stress out of the foot," Glenn said Monday.

Ossai, who started training camp on the PUP list, originally returned to practice in a limited capacity on Aug. 17, with Glenn designating him back to being a "full-go" by Aug. 19.

During the last week of camp, Ossai sacked QB Cade Klubnik and had a TFL on QB Geno Smith's pitch to RB Braelon Allen.

"It's everything I expect from him, I love that player," Glenn said. "We know there's some things he has to work on and we will continue to work on those things. ... It [was] good to see him out there and the other guys just feed off that, too."

According to Kingsley Enagbare, Ossai is one of the biggest characters on defense, and after hearing him speak at the podium during training camp, it's not hard to understand why.

Ossai smiles wide, there's passion in his words, and he laughs to himself because he doesn't want to say too much.

"From what I see he wants, he wants, I'm trying not to give too much away," Ossai said when asked about the culture Glenn has created. "I just want to pop out Week 1, and people see what we're about. But he's, he's, he's … yeah. Yeah," he said, nodding to himself with a grin before moving on to the next question.

Once Ossai makes his return to the field, that energy will be expected -- it was just starting to be noticed.

"Any time Joe steps on the field, he's going to bring the juice and he's going to fly to the football," Enagbare said.

Ossai was a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft and played four years with the Bengals before signing with the Jets in free agency. In 2024 and 2025, his production noticeably increased with 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in each season.

"I think it was just a game of perseverance," Ossai said when asked to describe the leap. "Because the first two seasons I was role playing, but injuries played a huge role in that position, on that job description so to speak."

Those two seasons helped his confidence and being injury-free helped. "When it was time to go, I just put my head down and went," Ossai said.

While his timeline continues to look different from his teammates, Ossai, throughout his life, has vowed "to run my own race."

"I've got to focus on the 1 percent," Ossai said. "I think going through this and being where I am, I can't put three weeks of work just in one day underneath my belt and be where I want to be even though I want to be like that."

Ossai might not have revealed the culture Glenn is promoting from within, but it's enough to make him excited about eventually taking the field with the rest of the unit.

"We got some [nods head] you know what I'm saying?" Ossai said with another smirk. "And then AG leading it all, the fire he brings … there's no way you leave a room or a defensive meeting where you don't want to run through a wall.

"I can't wait to run through a couple walls this year."

While his timeline continues to look different from his teammates, Ossai, throughout his life, has vowed "to run my own race."

"I've got to focus on the 1 percent," Ossai said. "I think going through this and being where I am, I can't put three weeks of work just in one day underneath my belt and be where I want to be even though I want to be like that."

Ossai might not have revealed the culture Glenn is promoting from within, but it's enough to make him excited about eventually taking the field with the rest of the unit.

"We got some [nods head] you know what I'm saying?" Ossai said with another smirk. "And then AG leading it all, the fire he brings … there's no way you leave a room or a defensive meeting where you don't want to run through a wall.

"I can't wait to run through a couple walls this year."