Bengals receive encouraging news regarding offensive weapon

The Bengals found a path to victory in Kansas City without breakout tight end C.J. Uzomah. Still, Cincinnati would love to have their offensive weapon back for Super Bowl LVI.

On Monday, Bengals coach Zac Taylor provided an update on Uzomah.

“Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah appears to have a sprained MCL, per coach Zac Taylor,” tweeted ESPN’s Bengals reporter Ben Baby. “Taylor said it’s encouraging so far.”

Initial reports suggested a possible MCL sprain for Uzomah, which Taylor has confirmed. Originally, the former Auburn star did not return to the game on Sunday for the Bengals. Still, Taylor and Uzomah are hoping that he’ll be ready to go in the Super Bowl.

“That’s the worst feeling,” Uzomah said, via Pro Football Talk. “I did it all of last year — with the exception of two games — and it was a feeling that I didn’t want to have to deal with again. . . . It was ridiculously tough. It’s the AFC Championship. You don’t want to be on the sideline, but it was fun to see the boys — with the resolve they had — come back and get this win.”

This season is Uzomah’s seventh in the NFL, and he has spent all of them with the Bengals. Entering this season, he saw an inconsistent role in the receiving game. But this year, Uzomah has turned into a valuable target for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. During the regular season, Uzomah caught 49 passes on 63 targets for 493 yards and five touchdowns. Through three playoff games, he has 13 receptions on 16 targets for 135 yards and one touchdown.

More on Uzomah’s injury during the Bengals win

The injury to Uzomah is to his left knee. On a first down play, Uzomah ran up the field before turning back and looking for the pass from Burrow. The pass came, but it was a little high and off to the side, leading to Uzomah making an awkward lunge towards the ball. When he came down, he got tangled up with a couple of Kansas City Chiefs defenders, resulting in the twist of his knee.

If Uzomah is forced to miss Super Bowl 56, set to take place in two weeks, the Bengals will have to look elsewhere in the passing game. Luckily for them, they have plenty of solid options to choose from. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are star wide receivers, and both have at least 200 receiving yards in the postseason. Receiver Tyler Boyd also plays a key role.

Elsewhere, the Bengals involve running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine in the passing game. Behind Uzomah, Drew Sample is next in line at tight end. He has one reception on two targets in the postseason for four yards.

On3’s Jonathon Wagner contributed to this article.