Eagles surprisingly release CJ Uzomah and re-sign Jason Poe – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles made a surprising early cut on Wednesday with the release of experienced tight end CJ Uzomah.

Surprising, because one day earlier Uzomah received 1^st-Team representative.

Uzomah, a unique 5^th-round pick of the Bengals, split time with Grant Calcaterra in the first offensive line on Tuesday, while Dallas Goedert sat out most of practice with an oblique injury.

He competed for the backup tight end position and, with his experience and ability as a pass receiver, seemed to be in the running to replace Goedert and Calcaterra.

The Eagles signed Uzomah to a one-year contract on April 11, and he was competing with Albert Okwuegunam Jr. and EJ Jenkins for the third tight end spot. Newcomers Kevin Foelsch and Armani Rogers are the other tight ends currently on the 90-man roster.

Uzomah has 192 catches for 1,881 yards and 16 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons, the first seven with the Bengals and the last two with the Jets. He eclipsed 400 yards in both 2018 and 2021, but was just 8 of 58 with a TD last year and was sacked on March 13.

He also had a very good 2021 postseason with Cincinnati, with 15 catches for 146 yards and a TD as the Bengals reached the Super Bowl. His 15 catches are 6^th– the most in Bengals history in a single postseason.

Uzomah played 11 offensive snaps in preseason games against the Ravens and Patriots and had a three-yard catch in Baltimore. His 41.4 Pro Football Focus rating in those two games ranks 131st^st of 138 tight ends this preseason.

Jenkins had a nice game in New England last week with five catches for 47 yards, including a 19-yard pass from Will Grier to set up a field goal.

The Eagles also re-signed offensive lineman Jason Poe on Wednesday, who was with the team until his release on August 5.

Poe, 26, has not yet played in the league, but was part of the 49ers and Jets practice squads last year.

He joins a large group of centre-backs trying to secure a place in the squad. Matt Hennessy, Brett Toth, Max Scharping and Nick Gates also fall into this category. Tyler Steen, Dylan McMahon and Trevor Keegan appear to have secured a place in the squad.

Final cuts to the regular season limit of 53 must be made by 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles will finish the preseason with a game at the Linc against the Vikings on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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