The Philadelphia Eagles have released veteran tight end C.J. Uzomah and re-signed interior offensive lineman Jason Poe, according to an official team announcement.
Uzomah’s departure is unsurprising; he underperformed during training camp practices and preseason games. BGN’s Jonny Page recently wrote the following:
Unfortunately, the play did not go well (as it did last year), and C.J. Uzomah struggled to contain the Patriots’ EDGE defender. I haven’t been impressed with Uzomah this preseason, and he’s struggled with run blocking.
Blocking was part of Uzomah’s theoretical appeal as a 6’6″, 275-pound tight end. When the Eagles signed him in April, he was viewed as a potential replacement for Jack Stoll. However, Uzomah was unable to block and failed to capitalize on his few passing opportunities. After coping with injury concerns in recent years, it appears that the 31-year-old may have run out of steam.
The Eagles have six tight ends on their roster: Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, E.J. Jenkins, Albert Okwuegbunam, Armani Rogers, and Kevin Foelsch. Goedert will undoubtedly start, while Calcaterra has stepped up to take the TE2 position. Jenkins has been the strongest TE3 contender, but he is not guaranteed to make the squad.
Poe’s comeback permits him to play some snaps in the Eagles’ preseason finale on Saturday before being waived again next week. The Eagles must reduce their roster from 90 to 53 players by the 4:00 PM Eastern deadline on Tuesday, August 27.
