Getty New York Jets tight end CJ Uzomah.
The New York Jets placed veteran tight end C.J. Uzomah on injured reserve on Wednesday, December 6.
That means the 30-year-old will have to miss at least the next four games with only five games left in the season, so it is likely the end of his 2023 season and perhaps even his career in New York.
The Jet Press posted on X (formerly Twitter) that there is a “good chance” that we have seen the “last of Uzomah with the Jets.”
Before the 2023 season, the Jets restructured Uzomah’s contract to create immediate cap relief, according to The Jet Press. Doing so meant that Gang Green would have to eat $5.9 million in dead cap money next season if they were to cut him. There is also a $2.7 million dead cap hit built into the void years of the contract in 2025 that the team would also be responsible for.
He originally signed a three-year deal for $24 million during the 2022 offseason.
C.J. Uzomah Has Had an Underwhelming Tenure With the Jets to Date
Uzomah never really provided impressive production as a tight end through the first seven years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
He registered 163 receptions for 1,591 receiving yards and hauled in 13 touchdowns during that run. When you average that out on a per-season basis, Uzomah had 23 receptions for 227 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Based on those numbers, Uzomah delivered in his first season with the Jets almost exactly what he had throughout his entire career. In 2022, Uzomah had 21 catches for 232 yards and two touchdowns.
Considering the money he received on the open market from the Jets, expectations increased but his production didn’t. His $8 million annual salary is the 16th highest for a tight end, per Over The Cap.
This season, Uzomah struggled to put up any real kind of production and saw his playing time shrink. He appeared in only 32% of the offensive snaps in 2023 after being involved in 53% of them in 2022.
A Young Guy Is Finally Getting His Chance With the Jets
With Uzomah being placed on IR, the Jets activated tight end Kenny Yeboah off of injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.
Yeboah returned to practice for the Jets on November 15. He suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason and had been on the shelf all year.
However, he now has a chance to shine on the 53-man roster.
Yeboah, 25, first joined the Jets back in 2021 as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss. He offers intriguing size at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, and he has shown preseason flashes over the years.
Over the last three years, he has bounced between the Jets 90-man roster, practice squad and active roster. Yeboah has appeared in 19 games during his career but he has never made a start.
During that stretch of games, Yeboah has hauled in only two receptions for 36 receiving yards. Although with Uzomah out and five games left in the year, there is a real path for Yeboah to get some opportunities on the football field and carve out a real future with the Jets.
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