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          Cincinnati Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah appears to have sprained MCL, coach Zac Taylor says

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterJan 31, 2022, 01:48 PM ET
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- The Bengals have received a glimmer of good news regarding one of their core players.

          The initial tests on C.J. Uzomah's knee injury were labeled "encouraging" by coach Zac Taylor on Monday after the tight end left Sunday's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Taylor said Uzomah appears to have suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee.

          "I don't know anything further at this point but it seems to be encouraging initially," Taylor said.

          The seventh-year player out of Auburn went down in the first quarter after he leaped to catch a pass from quarterback Joe Burrow that went incomplete. Uzomah hobbled off the field before he eventually was taken via medical cart to the locker room.

          Uzomah returned to the sideline later in the game and was seen wearing a protective brace on his left leg during the postgame celebrations.

          "I had to be out there for those guys," Uzomah told the team's website. "I wouldn't have missed that."

          The veteran tight end told the team's website that he believes there's a chance he could play in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 against the Los Angeles Rams.

          In a tweet after the win, Uzomah thanked fans for their prayers and said he was "focused on getting right" for Cincinnati's game against the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

          After coming back from an Achilles injury that ended his 2020 season in Week 2, Uzomah has been an instrumental part of Cincinnati's offense that has helped the team make its first Super Bowl appearance since 1989. In this year's playoff run, he has 13 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.