Brent Celek
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Brent Steven Celek (; born January 25, 1985) is an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
executive and former
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
for the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...
and was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played his entire 11 season career with the Eagles. Celek helped the Eagles win
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
during the 2017 season; he subsequently retired that offseason.


Early life

Celek played
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
at La Salle High School in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. He was named first-team all-district as both a junior and senior. He set a school record after catching a pass for 89 yards. He also lettered in track two years in the shot put and discus.


College career

Celek played college football for the
Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...
, the first year under head coach Rick Minter and the following three seasons under
Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is an American college football coach and former player. His most recent head coaching position was at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019. He led the Michigan State Spar ...
. He won the UC Claude Rost Award (Most Valuable Player) and was a second-team All-Big East Conference selection. His four-year totals were 91 receptions for 1,135 yards (a 12.5 average) and 14 touchdowns, with the Bearcats earning victories his senior year in the International Bowl and his sophomore season in the Fort Worth Bowl.


Professional career


2007 season

After not having been invited to the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine, Celek was selected by the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
in the fifth round (162nd overall) of the 2007 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the team on May 30, 2007.


2008 season

In
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, Celek set franchise records for yards in a game with 131 in week 9 and receptions in a playoff game with 10 in the 2009 NFC Championship game. He caught two touchdowns in a game against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
, and his 19 catches during the 2008-09 NFL playoffs were the third most in NFL history for a tight end.http://media.philadelphiaeagles.com/media/150104/celek-brent.pdf


2009 season

Celek became the starting
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
for the Eagles after L. J. Smith departed via free agency to the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
in 2009. After scoring a touchdown in a week 9 game at home against the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
, Celek was penalized for excessive celebration after teammate Jason Avant lifted his leg in order to impersonate the mascot for Captain Morgan rum. After the incident, the NFL quickly banned what turned out to be a covert ad campaign allegedly put on by the company, whereas any NFL player that is caught striking the "Captain Morgan" pose on camera during a regular-season game would result in a donation of $10,000 to the Gridiron Greats, a non-profit which helps retired NFL players with various hardships after leaving the game. The league chose not to penalize Celek, but stated that any future incident would be punished. Celek signed six-year contract extension on December 1, 2009, to keep him under contract as an Eagle until after the 2016 season. On December 27, 2009, in week 16 against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, Celek made four catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, his third 100-yard game of the season. His 47-yard touchdown catch was the longest of his career. After having a breakout year with 76 catches (a team high), 971 yards and eight touchdowns, Celek was named to the 2009 USA Today All-Joe Team.


2010 season

In the 2010 season, Celek caught 42 passes for 511 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a then career-long 65-yard touchdown against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
in week 15, in the
Miracle at the New Meadowlands The Miracle at the New Meadowlands, also called "New Miracle at the New Meadowlands" and "Miracle at the Meadowlands II" was an improbable Comeback (sports), come-from-behind win by the 2010 Philadelphia Eagles season, Philadelphia Eagles over t ...
.


2011 season

Celek ended the season with 811 receiving yards, as quarterback Michael Vick's favorite target. He was one of three Eagle offensive players to start all 16 games, along with right tackle Todd Herremans and rookie center Jason Kelce. During the offseason, Celek was a passenger in a DUI car accident, where no one was hurt.


2012 season

Celek finished the season with 57 receptions for 684 yards and one touchdown.


2013 season

Celek finished the regular season with 32 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns after scoring a touchdown in each of the final two weeks. In the opening-round playoff loss to the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, Celek caught two passes on three targets for 16 yards.


2014 season

Going into the 2014 season, his eighth in the NFL, Celek stood second in Eagles team history in three tight end categories—all behind career leader Pete Retzlaff—in receiving yards (4,050), receptions (322), and touchdowns (26). Despite being the team's starter, Celek only had 90 yards in the team's first eight games (three of those games had no receptions), being used mostly for blocking. When
Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. A member of six teams, he achieved his greatest success wi ...
went down due to injury, Celek saw more catches from backup
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...
. This was best showcased in a win over the Carolina Panthers, in which he caught 5 passes for 116 yards. He also caught his lone touchdown of the season from Sanchez, a 1-yard catch against the Giants in Week 17. Celek finished the season with 32 receptions for 340 yards and 1 touchdown, which was less than half of teammate Zach Ertz's total.


2015 season

Celek remained the Eagles' starting tight end to start the 2015 season. Similarly to 2014, Celek had an uneventful start, only getting one catch on one target for six yards in three games. However, in a Week 4 divisional matchup against the Redskins, he scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard catch and run from new quarterback
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bradford attended Putnam City North High School, where he starred ...
. Celek followed it up with 3 catches for 44 yards and another touchdown against the Saints. Celek only caught 2 passes for 11 yards in a game against the Panthers, and against the Cowboys he caught no passes. Celek did, however, make a crucial block on Dallas' defensive end Greg Hardy in overtime that allowed Bradford to throw the game-winning touchdown. Celek exploded onto the scene with 4 catches for 134 yards in a week 10 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, followed by 7 catches for 79 yards against the Buccaneers, and 2 catches for 10 yards and a touchdown against the Lions. Mark Sanchez started 2 of these games, and played in all 3, although Bradford threw 3 of Celek's 4 catches against Miami. Despite having only 35 targets, 8th on the team, Celek finished the year with 27 catches for 398 yards (3rd on the team) and 3 touchdowns (T-2nd on the team). On January 26, 2016, Celek signed a three-year contract extension with the Eagles for $13 million, with $6 million guaranteed. 250px, Celek in Ocean City, New Jersey


2016 season

Celek played in all 16 games with 8 starts, recording 14 receptions for 155 yards. He was mainly used as a blocking specialist.


2017 season

During the 2017 regular season, Celek recorded 13 receptions for 130 yards. Celek earned his first championship ring when the Eagles defeated the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
in
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
by a score of 41-33; although he did not have any catches in the game, Celek did make a key block that allowed running back LeGarrette Blount to score a touchdown during the second quarter. On March 13, 2018, Celek was released by the Eagles.


Retirement

On August 31, 2018, Celek announced his retirement from the NFL.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Playoffs


Post-playing career

On February 7, 2020, Celek was hired as a personnel consultant in the Eagles' football operations department, alongside former teammate Darren Sproles. He is also working in real estate.


Personal life

Celek is the son of Steve and Debbie Celek and the oldest of five children. Brent's younger brother, Garrett, played tight end at
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
under coach Joe Consales, who coached Brent when he played for
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. After going undrafted, Garrett signed with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
.


References


External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celek, Brent 1985 births American football tight ends Cincinnati Bearcats football players Living people Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Cincinnati Philadelphia Eagles executives La Salle High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) alumni