NFL insider provides update on injured Bengals playmaker ahead of Super Bowl
Cincinnati Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah suffered a sprained MCL in the NFC Championship game, but he has committed to playing in the big game throughout the last week. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that will indeed be the case on Super Bowl Sunday.
“Despite being listed as questionable due to his knee injury, Bengals’ TE C.J. Uzomah will play in today’s Super Bowl, as he has said he would throughout the week,” Schefter tweeted Sunday morning.
This season is Uzomah’s seventh in the NFL, all of which have been with the Bengals. In the first six years of his career, Uzomah saw an inconsistent role in Cincinnati’s passing offense. But this year, he has turned into a valuable weapon for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. In the regular season, Uzomah caught 49 passes on 63 targets for 493 yards and five touchdowns. In three playoff games, he has 13 receptions on 16 targets for 135 yards and one touchdown.
The Bengals selected Uzomah in the fifth round (157th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Auburn. Now, despite being listed as questionable entering Super Bowl Sunday, Uzomah will be on the field when the Bengals fight for their first Super Bowl title in the franchise’s history.
Uzomah’s status for the Bengals in the Super Bowl was never a question for him
Last season, Uzomah only played in two games after suffering a season ending injury. After experiencing what it feels like to be on the sidelines, he knew that sitting out wasn’t an option in the Super Bowl. Uzomah knew that he was going to do everything in his power to be on the field for the Bengals, and it now appears that he will be.
“To me, I’m like I’m not missing the biggest game of my life. Right? Like, I’m not missing it,” Uzomah said earlier in the week. “So that’s my approach going into every day of rehab. If I wake up, and I’m like, ‘Oh, man, it’s a little sore,’ it doesn’t matter. . . . Right when I put my feet on the ground, it’s go time. Let’s get this rehab going. Let’s do everything I can to make sure I’m ready and available to play. That’s kind of where my mind is.
“I feel good. I feel really, really good.”
If the Bengals do win the Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams, Uzomah has an interesting celebration lined up. He said that he will take a bath in Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati staple, if the Bengals win.