Christopher James Uzomah ( ; born January 14, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the fifth round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

High school career

The son of Xavier and Stephanie Uzomah, C. J. attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school outside the city limits of Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High ...

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a northeastern suburb of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. Portions of Forsyth and Fulton counties ...

, where he played quarterback. During his senior season, threw for 238 yards with two touchdowns, rushed for 74 yards and had 168 receiving yards with one touchdown. As a junior, he passed for 1,750 yards and 15 touchdowns, and ran for 800 yards and 10 more touchdowns.

College career

Primarily a blocking tight end at Auburn, Uzomah caught only 29 passes in his four seasons, but seven of them were for touchdowns. He majored in Marketing while at Auburn. As a freshman, he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass. Uzomah attended the 2015

Medal of Honor Bowl The Medal of Honor Bowl was an American college football all-star game played in Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2014 and 2015. The bowl was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Primary beneficiaries of th ...

along with teammates Angelo Blackson and Jermaine Whitehead, making one reception for 29 yards to help the National team defeat the American team 26–14. On January 17, 2015, it was announced that Uzomah had accepted his invitation to play in the

2014 Senior Bowl The 2014 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featured players from the 2013 college football season, and prospects for the 2014 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded the post-seas ...

. On January 24, 2015, Uzomah caught a pass for nine yards and was a part of a South team that lost 34–13 in the Reese's Senior Bowl. Although he played in the two all-star games, Uzomah was not one of 19 tight ends who received an invitation to perform at the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

Professional career

On March 3, 2015, he participated at Auburn's pro day, along with

Cameron Artis-Payne Cameron Artis-Payne (born June 23, 1990) is an American professional football running back for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Auburn, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the ...

Angelo Blackson Angelo Sierre Blackson (born November 14, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draf ...

Quan Bray Jaquan Bray (born April 28, 1993) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Auburn, and signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free ...

Sammie Coates Sammie Coates Jr. (born March 31, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Auburn, where he played in the 2013 SEC Championship Game and 2014 BCS N ...

Reese Dismukes Reese Dismukes (born October 20, 1992) is a former American football center. Early years Dismukes attended Spanish Fort High School in Spanish Fort, Alabama, where he played football and competed in track. He was a four-star recruit by Rivals.c ...

Corey Grant Corey Grant (born December 22, 1976) is the head coach for the Carleton Ravens football team of U Sports. He is a former professional wide receiver in the Canadian Football League where he played for 11 years and won two Grey Cup championships. ...

Nick Marshall Nicholas Deshawn Marshall Sr. (born June 30, 1992) is an American football cornerback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Fo ...

, Brandon King,

Jermaine Whitehead Jermaine Rasheed Whitehead (born March 12, 1993) is a former American football free safety. He played college football at Auburn, and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He was also a member of the Baltimore ...

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, Trovon Reed, and nine other teammates. Uzomah performed all of the combine and positional drills for scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams. He was projected to be a sixth or seventh round draft pick or a possible priority free agent by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts. NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the 12th best tight end prospect in the draft.

Cincinnati Bengals

The

selected Uzomah in the fifth round (157th overall) of the

. He was the seventh tight end selected in 2015 and the second tight end drafted by the Bengals that year, behind Rutgers'

Tyler Kroft Tyler Kroft (born October 15, 1992) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Rutgers. He was drafted in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He has also playe ...

(third round, 85th overall).

2015: Rookie year

On May 15, 2015, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Uzomah to a four-year, $2.49 million contract with a signing bonus of $212,762. Throughout training camp, he competed with Tyler Kroft, Jake Murphy, Matt Lengel, and John Peters for the job as the second tight end after

Jermaine Gresham Jermaine Gresham (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he received All-American honors. Hi ...

departed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in free agency. Head coach

Marvin Lewis Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for 1 ...

named Uzomah the third tight end on the Bengals' depth chart behind

Tyler Eifert Tyler Gregory Eifert (born September 8, 1990) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame, received All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college tight end. Eife ...

and Kroft. On December 6, 2015, Uzomah made his professional regular season debut after being a healthy scratch for the first 11 games. He was promoted to the second tight end after Tyler Eifert had been ruled out of the game after suffering a neck injury. He caught a four-yard pass by

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

to mark the first reception of his career in the fourth quarter of the Bengals' 37–3 victory over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. He completed his rookie season with one reception for four receiving yards in five games and zero starts. The

finished atop the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL s ...

in with a 12–4 record. On January 9, 2016, Uzomah appeared in his first playoff game, as the Bengals were defeated by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the AFC Wild Card Round.

2016

Uzomah entered training camp competing to remain a backup tight end against Tyler Kroft, Matt Lengel, and John Peters. He was named the Cincinnati Bengals' starting tight end to begin the regular season after Tyler Eifert was unable to return in time after fracturing his ankle in the

2016 Pro Bowl The 2016 Pro Bowl (branded as the 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA for sponsorship reasons) was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2015 season, which was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 31, 2016. As of 20 ...

and Tyler Kroft suffered a sprain knee in training camp. He started the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at the

and recorded two receptions for a season-high 59 yards in a 23–22 victory. During a Week 5 contest at the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, he made a season-high five catches for 43 yards in the Bengals' 28–14 loss. He was inactive for Weeks 11–15 after both Eifert and Kroft had returned from injury. Uzomah started the last two games of the season after Kroft had suffered a knee injury and Eifert had suffered a back injury that would require surgery. On January 1, 2017, Uzomah scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard pass from Andy Dalton during a 27–10 win over the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He completed the season with 25 receptions for 234 yards and a touchdown in ten games and eight starts.

2017

Uzomah competed with Tyler Kroft and rookies

Mason Schreck Mason Schreck (born November 4, 1993) is an American football tight end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo. Amateur career Schreck attended Medina High School in Medina, Ohio ...

and Cethan Carter throughout training camp for the job as the backup tight end. Head coach Marvin Lewis named Uzomah the third tight end on the Bengals' depth chart to start the regular season. After being inactive for the first two games, Uzomah was activated for Week 3 after Tyler Eifert was unable to play due to a back injury. Eifert was placed on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season. On October 1, 2017, Uzomah made his first catch of the season for an 11-yard gain during a 31–7 victory at the

. The next game, he earned his first start of the season and had one reception for 21 yards in a 20–16 win against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He totaled 10 receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown on the season.

2018

In 2018, Uzomah played in 16 games with 15 starts, recording a career-high 43 receptions for 439 yards and three touchdowns.

2019

On March 11, 2019, Uzomah signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension with the Bengals. He started in all 16 games and recorded 27 receptions for 242 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

2020

In the Bengals second game of the season, Uzomah caught four passes for 42 yards and rookie quarterback

Joe Burrow Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Ohio State, Burrow played college football at LSU, where he won the Heisma ...

's first career passing touchdown against the

. During the game, Uzomah also tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

which caused him to miss the rest of the season. The following day, he was placed on injured reserve.

2021: Super Bowl appearance

Uzomah returned to start 16 games for the Bengals in 2021, setting new career highs for receptions (49), receiving yards (493), and touchdowns (5). He went on to catch six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the Wild Card Round win over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. Uzomah had two receptions for 11 yards in the loss to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

New York Jets

On March 17, 2022, Uzomah signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the

. He appeared in 15 games in the 2022 season. He finished with 21 receptions for 232 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, which both came in Week 15 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

C.J.'s father, Xavier, earned an MBA from Auburn. Uzomah's mother, Stephanie, holds a doctorate in education. Uzomah is of Nigerian descent.

References

External links

New York Jets bioAuburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzomah, C. J. 1993 births Living people American football tight ends American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Auburn Tigers football players Cincinnati Bengals players New York Jets players North Gwinnett High School alumni People from Suwanee, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area