There’s a particular kind of ending that only football can write. Two weeks after suffering a sprained MCL in the AFC Championship Game, CJ Uzomah suited up anyway for Super Bowl LVI, hauling in two catches for 11 yards as the Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Los Angeles Rams, one gut-punch of a drive away from the franchise’s first championship. Weeks later, he signed with the New York Jets and left the only NFL home he’d ever known, spending four more seasons bouncing between New York and Philadelphia before returning to Cincinnati this week to hang up his cleats for good. But not as a Jet or an Eagle, but as a Bengal.
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Uzomah made it official on X this week, sharing the news alongside a photo from his return to Paul Brown Stadium, where he sat down with the Bengals to sign a ceremonial one-day contract before formally announcing his retirement with the franchise that drafted him.
“History has a way of repeating itself, and there’s no place I’d want to formally announce my retirement than the place that started it all for me and gave me my chance,” Uzomah wrote. “The place where we won a playoff game for the first time since before I was born, and went on an odds-defying run to the Super Bowl.”
The post capped a decade-long run that began with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2015 NFL Draft, when they selected him in the fifth round (157th overall) out of Auburn University. During his career, he primarily played for the Bengals from 2015 to 2021. Later, he completed short stints with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, where he was on their Super Bowl roster. During his ten glorious seasons in the league, he started 85 games and scored 16 touchdowns with 192 receptions.
“I was just myself,” Uzomah said. “I think I just let my personality show. I gave it my all and tried my best, and thankfully that was enough for most parts. I think (the fans) respected that in a way that I was just having fun and performing well.”
Still nursing the sprained MCL that threatened to keep him out of the biggest game of his career, he grabbed the microphone in front of a packed stadium, ripped the bulky knee brace clean off his leg, and hurled it straight onto the midfield Bengals logo. The crowd erupted as Uzomah flexed and took off on a victory lap around the turf, pumping up a fan base that hadn’t seen its team this close to a championship in more than three decades.
In the years since, Mike Gesicki has stepped up to fill the void Uzomah left behind, with Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, and Erick All Jr. rounding out a tight end room that’s deeper than it’s been in some time. Should that group produce consistently in the passing game, it could be a meaningful piece of the puzzle as the Bengals look to get back to the Super Bowl stage Uzomah once helped them reach.
Uzomah closed out his farewell post the same way he closed out his time in Cincinnati, with the phrase that’s carried the Bengals faithful through decades of heartbreak and, finally, a taste of contention: “Who Dey Forever.” As he retires after ten seasons in the league, he still chose to stay connected with the Bengals as he transitions into sports broadcasting.
CJ Uzomah Reveals Plans to Retire as a Bengal
Reports say the Bengals approached Uzomah after his retirement to see if he would be interested in joining their TV programming this year on FOX19. Nodding to the proposal, CJ Uzomah would be seen in a few episodes of Bengal Weekly on Sundays from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM from Nashville, Tennessee.
“It’s not like, ‘Go talk about the Dolphins.’ I’d rather talk about the Bengals. I’m a Bengals fan, and I will be for life,” said Uzomah, who lives in Nashville. “Not saying that I won’t be able to do that later, but I think for me right now, it’s like, all right, this is a place that’s close to home, and why not?”
Living in Nashville, he could have explored opportunities covering other teams, but his preference remains clear. His next chapter may look different, but his loyalty to the Bengals remains unchanged.
For Uzomah, retirement will not mean stepping away from the Bengals entirely. His upcoming television work gives him a chance to remain around the team while starting a new chapter beyond the field.