Sample, a third-year tight end, had just 11 receptions for 81 yards during the regular season but played 90 percent of the offensive snaps last week with Uzomah missing most of the game. Last year, he was the starting tight end for the final 14 games and finished with 40 catches for 349 yards and one touchdown.
“Obviously, when a guy like CJ goes down, your initial reaction is just shock,” Sample said Saturday. “You wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. He’s one of the leaders of this team. He’s a sparkplug for us. That initial reaction, you don’t know how severe it is, things like that. You never want to see that happen to a guy. For me and the other tight ends there isn’t any flinch in that situation. You are preparing every week like you are playing every snap. (Tight ends coach) James (Casey) does a great job making sure everybody is prepared. Really, it was no different than any normal game. Maybe a little more tired, less rotations, things like that. For me I’m always ready. Things like that happen. It was obviously tough because of what CJ means to our offense and our team. But for me it was just next man up and that’s kind of how the NFL goes.”
In the last practice of the week Saturday, Uzomah worked on the side during the portion of practice open to media. A pool report from the session indicated he worked on a stationary bike, worked his knee by repeatedly kicking into the air and did some easy running with resistance on a band from trainer Nick Cosgray.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor had told a practice pool reporter on Friday that he didn’t anticipate Uzomah doing much work this week.
“The goal really is to see where he’s at this weekend and see where he’s going to be on Monday,” Taylor said.
Preparing for Rams run defense
The Rams bring the sixth-best run defense in the league, but running back Samaje Perine said that won’t change how the Bengals approach things with their offensive gameplan.
L.A. allows just 103.2 rushing yards per game, which Perine said is a tribute to their defensive line being so good with Aaron Donald and Von Miller.
“I mean, for the most part we do what we do,” Perine said. “We know defenses, we know their tendencies, but we have to worry about what we’re doing. We can’t worry so much about how great their defense is or this and that or who they have on their side of the ball. We just have to worry about what we’re doing and how we execute because when it comes down to it, both teams are here for a reason. So, we know we both have playmakers so it’s going to come down to who can make that last play to make the game count.”
Super Bowl dreams
Asked if he’s ever dreamt about a Super Bowl, Sample said he’s never had an actual dream in his sleep about it, but he has definitely pictured it.
“This is the group I want to be in the Super Bowl with, the guys we have,” Sample said. “Everyone is really close in the locker room and we’ve been through a lot together. I’ve been here three years, and the guys that have been here even before that, TB (Tyler Boyd), C.J. (Uzomah), who have been through so much, the last three years we’ve been through so much adversity, and to have everything come to fruition that we’ve imagined since I’ve been in the NFL, it’s really cool. And we’re really excited for the opportunity.”
More notes from practic
The Bengals’ practice Saturday at the University of Cincinnati’s bubble was expected to be their last indoor practice before the team flies to Los Angeles on Tuesday to begin a week of preparation at UCLA.
Right guard Jackson Carman (back) did not participate in the session Saturday, attending in sweats, and it was his second straight day sitting out after being a full participant the first two days of the week.
Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn took in the workout Saturday and spent time chatting with former Bengals wideout Cris Collinsworth, who is calling the Super Bowl as an analyst for NBC.
The Bengals were scheduled to be off Sunday, and Monday will be dominated by media commitments at the team facility culminating in a team pep rally event at Paul Brown Stadium in the evening as part of Super Bowl Opening Night.
SUPER BOWL LVI
Sunday, Feb. 13
Bengals vs. Rams, 6:30 p.m., NBC, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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