Cincinnati Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah is doing everything he can to play in Super Bowl LVI after suffering a knee injury in the AFC Championship Game.
Speaking to the media Monday, Uzomah said he'll be on the field Sunday if he has his way.
"Day to day. My mind, my mind, is yes," he said when asked if he expects to play. "But for the sake of everyone else, I'm just going to say day to day."
Uzomah went down just nine snaps into the AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs and was quickly ruled out. But an MRI on his knee provided hope that he'll be able to suit up after having an extra week of rest.
"It's the Super Bowl. I'm doing everything I can," he said. "I don't really care too much about how I'm feeling, to be honest, when I'm out there. … I'm not missing the biggest game of my life. I'm not missing it. If I wake up and I'm like, 'Oh man, it's a little sore,' it doesn't matter. Right when I get in that building, right when I put my feet on the ground, it's go time. Let's get this rehab going. Let's do everything I can to make sure that I'm ready and available to play, so that's kind of where my mind is."
Uzomah added that he's "feeling great" while working through rehab.
"It's been a grind," he said. "It's been a lot of early mornings, late nights of just rehabbing and fighting through some stuff. But I feel good. I feel really, really good."
Compiling 49 catches for 493 yards and five TDs in 16 regular season games, Uzomah plays a key role in the Bengals offense as a between-the-hashes target buffering Cincy's explosive receiver corps. If he's healthy enough to suit up for Super Bowl LVI, it will give Joe Burrow another difference-making weapon against the Rams star-studded defense.
