He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft.

He earned the Outstanding Defensive Back Award in spring practice and recorded two tackles and a broken up pass in the Garnet and Black Game.

A year before the NFL Draft, Joseph was not regarded as a highly touted prospect and wasn't on any big boards since he was still an underclassman and only had played two games at South Carolina.

[7][8] He entered training camp competing with veteran Tory James and Deltha O'Neal for a starting cornerback position.

[7] Joseph earned the start over O'Neal in the season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs and finished with three solo tackles in a 23–10 victory.

[11] With the departure of Tory James in free agency and Deltha O'Neal receiving shoulder surgery in the off-season, Joseph was slated to be the Bengals' starting cornerback.

The next game, Joseph made a season-high seven solo tackles and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger's pass during a 24–10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[10] In Week 16, he made a season-high tying seven combined tackles and intercepted Cleveland Browns' quarterback Derek Anderson in a 19–14 victory.

[14] Joseph started the season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and made five combined tackles and three pass deflections, and recovered Ray Rice's fumble and returned it for a 65-yard touchdown in a 17–10 loss.

[18] On September 27, 2008, Joseph made six combined tackles and a pass deflection, and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown, en route to a 22–19 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[19] During a Week 5 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, Joseph had three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Joe Flacco in a 17–14 victory.

After the season, USA Today named Joseph to their annual "All-Joe" team which recognizes quality players that don't get their due.

Hall and Joseph were ranked the third best cornerback tandem in 2009 by the AFC North Blog, behind Al Harris and Charles Woodson of the Green Bay Packers and Darrelle Revis and Lito Sheppard of the New York Jets.

On October 10, 2010, he recorded two combined tackles and two pass deflections, and intercepted Josh Freeman in a 24–21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[25] Joseph finished the season with a career-lows 42 combined tackles (37 solo), eight pass deflections, three interceptions, and a touchdown in 12 games and starts.

The following week, he recorded four solo tackles and three pass deflections, and intercepted Miami Dolphins' quarterback Chad Henne in a 23–13 victory.

[28] During Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, Joseph racked up three solo tackles and two pass deflections, and intercepted Drew Brees in the 40–33 loss.

On October 16, 2011, Joseph made a season-high seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in a 29–14 road loss.

[33] Joseph started the season-opener and finished the 30–10 victory over the Miami Dolphins with five combined tackles and a pass deflection, and intercepted Ryan Tannehill.

The following week, Joseph made five combined tackles and a pass deflection, and intercepted Joe Flacco and returned it for a 52-yard touchdown in a 43–13 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

In Week 3, he made two solo tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted Russell Wilson for his first pick of the season in a 23–20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

On December 13, 2013, Joseph made a season-high nine combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Andrew Luck in a 25–3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Joseph finished the season with a career-high 75 combined tackles (70 solo), 11 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 games and starts.

Joseph entered training camp facing competition from Kevin Johnson who was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft and A. J. Bouye.

On November 16, 2015, Joseph made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Andy Dalton in a 10–6 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Joseph started the AFC Wildcard game and made two combined tackles as the Texans were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 30–0.

[43] During Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers, he made four solo tackles but left in the third quarter of the 21–13 loss, due to a rib injury.

On January 7, 2017, Joseph made ten solo tackles and three pass deflections in a 27–14 AFC Wildcard victory over the Oakland Raiders.

[51][26] During Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, Joseph intercepted Nathan Peterman late in the fourth quarter and returned it for a 28-yard touchdown to win the game 20–13.

[54] During Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, Joseph recorded his first interception and forced fumble as a Titan in the narrow 31–30 road victory.