C.J. Uzomah Signs 1-Day Deal To Retire with Cincinnati Bengals, Lines Up Post-NFL Work With Team's TV, Radio Shows

C.J. Uzomah was back at Paycor Stadium today to ceremoniously retire as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, but there are many more trips planned as the former tight end will be working with Dan Hoard on some television and radio shows.

After taking in practice with his wife and young daughter, Uzomah, wearing a sharp Bengals button-down shirt he purchased during the Super Bowl season, spoke with reporters about some of his fondest memories as well as why it was important for him to retire as a Bengal.

“Even when I left, I was like, 'I want to end my career in Cincinnati,'" Uzomah said. "I actually did this math because in my head, I was like, 'I spent so much time here. I want to figure out how much time.' The answer is 21.21 percent repeating is the amount of life that I spent here. And I don't remember the first 21.21 percent of my life to begin with.

"If you think about it from that perspective, I spent most of my maturing days – I'm probably still maturing – here. And all of my fondest memories are here. I live in Nashville, but this is always going to be my second home.”

Among the fond memories Uzomah listed were the touchdown catch in the 2021 playoff victory against the Raiders – “but the celebration was so terrible” – playing in Super Bowl LVI on a torn MCL and his second touchdown against the Jaguars when he ran the wrong route and Joe Burrow still found him for the score.

That was a Week 4 Thursday night game when Burrow famously screamed “You can’t zero me” and Uzomah had 95 receiving yards, which remained his career high.

So it only makes sense that the Bengals will be bringing him back to be Ruler of the Jungle this season in Week 4 against the Jaguars.

A fifth-round pick in 2015, Uzomah played seven seasons for the Bengals, logging 79 games with 61 starts.

He signed a three-year, $18.3 million extension in 2019 after Zac Taylor was hired as head coach.

Following the Super Bowl season, he signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the New York Jets, where he played for two seasons. In 2024, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles and won a Super Bowl, although he was injured for the entire postseason run.

Uzomah nearly missed playing in Super Bowl LVI for the Bengals.

He tore his MCL in the AFC Championship Game win against the Kansas City Chiefs and showed up to the sendoff party at the stadium on crutches.

“After he got hurt in the AFC Championship game, I think he maybe practiced one time,” tight end Drew Sample said. “I mean, he could barely move. And to his f--king credit, he went out there and played in the Super Bowl and played like 35-40 snaps. It was just really impressive.

“The whole time we're like 'Dude, are you sure you want to do this?' He kept saying he was going to be ready. And whether he did enough to get ready or he felt like crap and just played through it, I remember being like, 'Damn. That's a real professional.'”

Uzomah said as soon as he found out it wasn’t an ACL, he knew he was playing.

“Unless something was severely broken, I was playing in that game,” Uzomah said. “When the early reports said it wasn’t the ACL, I was like ‘I’ll be fine. I can deal with the pain.’”

At the Super Bowl sendoff party, Uzomah played to the crowd by chucking his knee brace.

ICYMI: CJ Uzomah is officially active for today’s Super Bowl!#SuperBowl #RuleItAll pic.twitter.com/URXzxOQqXZ
— SportsGridTV (@SportsGridTV) February 13, 2022

"That was classic," Sample said. "But we were like, 'Uh, you might need that.'"

The season before the Super Bowl run, Uzomah ruptured his Achilles in Week 2 and fought back to be ready in time for the start of 2021.

In 2018, he played through a painful shoulder injury after taking over as the starter when Tyler Eifert and Tyler Kroft suffered season-ending injuries.

And he’s not slowing down in retirement. In addition to working with Bengals TV and radio shows, he has written a Broadway musical – although he said he needs someone else to write the music and lyrics – about a football player.

He also has landed a part in a TV series about golf that has yet to be released. Uzomah, who made $38,034,514 in career earnings, also invested in the project and said they have already shot the pilot.

After staying in the shadows his rookie year, Uzomah let his personality shine and became one of the more popular Bengals among the fan base. And he’ll have to chance to continue connecting with him in his new endeavor with the team-produced shows.

“Rookie year I was very just chill and didn't wanna step on anybody's toes,” he said. “I didn't wanna be myself too much. Then after that, being with Tyler Eifert, definitely helped. Seeing him just be like, ‘Do whatever you want to, man. It's fine.

“And that helped a lot. I was just myself – goofy, quirky,” he continued. “And I think if I was that way and wasn't good on the field, then that would have been something different. But I gave it my all and tried my best and thankfully that was enough for the most part. And I think they respected that in a way, that I was having fun and also performing well.”

Uzomah is tied for eighth in Bengals history for games played by a tight end with 79.

Rodney Holman 165

Tony McGee 136

Bob Trumpy 128

Reggie Kelly 106

Bruce Coslet 101

Drew Sample 95

Marco Battaglia 88

C.J. Uzomah 79

Dan Ross 79

Jim Riggs 79

Eric Kattus 79

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