Bengals lose Joseph Ossai to injury during preseason finale

The last thing the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to do was lost a key member of the team in a meaningless preseason finale.

But that’s exactly what happened Saturday night when defensive end Joseph Ossai went down with an ankle injury and left the field with trainers. The team later declared him out.

The Bengals went into the game making it clear that starters wouldn’t play, so it was a little perplexing to see Ossai out there. While not technically a starter, he’s a key piece of the pass-rushing rotation and fringe roster guys like Raymond Johnson III needed the snaps.

There hasn’t been official word on severity beyond Ossai getting declared out, which was presumably precautionary in the first place. But it’s a concerning hit for the team to take this late in the summer right before games start to matter.

Story originally appeared on Bengals Wire