Brent Celek got the call on the night of his 31st birthday on Monday. It was his agent on the other line, telling him that the Eagles had extended an offer for a three-year deal that would secure his tenure with the team through 2018 and likely cement him as a career-long member of the franchise. The veteran tight end, who ranks second only to Eagles great Pete Retzlaff in nearly every important category for players at that position, had long dreamed of ending his career in Philadelphia, and when he heard the news he struggled to fight back tears.
"This is the greatest city to play for in the NFL," a beaming Celek told reporters on Friday. "To be able to really stay anywhere the length of your career I think is absolutely amazing, so the fact that I've been able to do it here is wonderful."
Celek was born in Cincinnati, a town with similar blue-collar roots to the city he adopted as a pro. He went to high school there and later attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was named the most outstanding member of the Bearcats as a senior in 2006. He had never been to Philadelphia before the Eagles selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, but he quickly fell in love with the city as a rookie.
Growing up in Cincinnati, Celek had never seen the type of passion surrounding professional football that he experienced in his first season in Philadelphia. The enthusiasm of the fan base won him over almost immediately, and by the time he became the team's full-time starter in his third season his own energetic style of play had already made him a fan favorite.
The Eagles announced that they have agreed to a new three-year deal with tight end Brent Celek. Take a look at some of his best moments as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles ...
TE Brent Celek was drafted in 2007 out of Cincinnati
In his rookie season, Celek set a career-high in yards (50) against Dallas
In 2008, Celek had a career day against Seattle, catching six passes for 131 yards
Celek led the team with six receptions and had 56 yards in their playoff win against Minnesota in 2008
In 2008, Celek set a franchise playoff record with 10 catches
In the 2008 NFC Championship game against Arizona, Celek also had 83 yards and two touchdowns
Celek continued to set new career-highs in 2009 in receptions (76), yards (971) and touchdowns (8)
Celek was named to USA Today's 2009 All-Joe Team, which honors the NFL players whose work doesn't necessarily garner headlines, but is integral to the success of their football team
Celek notched two straight 100-yard receiving games in 2009, the first Eagles tight end to do so since Pete Retzlaff in 1965
In 2010, Celek set a regular season career-high with 10 catches for a season-high 97 yards against Minnesota
Celek set another career-high 156 yards against the New York Jets in 2011
In 2011, Celek ranked tied for first on the team in receiving touchdowns (5), second in receptions (62) and third in yards (811)
Celek passed John Spagnola for second place on the Eagles all-time list among tight ends in receptions with 3 catches against Dallas in 2012
Celek then passed Spagnola to rank second among all Eagles tight ends in career receiving yards in a game against Cleveland in 2012
In 2013, Celek's touchdown against Arizona moved him past Chad Lewis and into second place all-time among Eagles tight ends in touchdowns with 24
Celek marked his seventh-career 100-yard game against Carolina in 2014
Celek registered his 30th career touchdown catch against Detroit in 2015
The 6-4, 255-pounder caught 76 passes for 971 yards and eight touchdowns in 2009, and all three numbers still stand as career bests. In recent years, Celek has embraced a role that's required him to serve more as a blocker, allowing 25-year-old Zach Ertz, who signed a five-year extension himself on Monday, to settle into a role as a premier target in the passing game. The 31-year-old tight end isn't sure what the future holds for him in terms of a role within new head coach Doug Pederson's West Coast/hybrid scheme, but whatever the Eagles want him to do he's ready to contribute.
"I'm so happy for (Zach), and I'm happy for our whole tight end group, the fact that we can stay together and play another year," he said. "Whether I'm playing tight end, playing special teams, whatever it is, I'm going to do everything I can to be the best that I can."
Because of limitations set forth in the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association, team coaching staffs can't communicate with their players about on-field matters until later in the offseason. But despite that, Celek has a leg up in terms of preparing to play in Coach Pederson's system, having worked within it from 2007-12. Andy Reid was the Eagles' head coach then, with Pederson serving as the team's offensive quality control coach and later as its quarterbacks coach over the final four seasons of Reid's tenure in Philadelphia.
But it's not just Celek's understanding of Pederson's terminology and schematic wrinkles that will help him next season. He also feels that he and the rookie head coach have already established the foundation for a great working relationship.
"I knew Doug quite well," Celek said of his relationship with Pederson during his first stint as a coach with the Eagles. "I would talk to him a lot about scheme and what he was thinking, because he was a quarterback in the league. He totally understands everything a player goes through, the X's and O's, what players are thinking on certain plays against certain coverages. I like Doug a lot. I think he's going to be a great leader for us, and he definitely understands football."
As the Eagles look to rebound from a disappointing 2015 season, Celek remains confident about the state of the team moving forward. Since arriving in Philadelphia in 2007, he's experienced just two playoff victories, both of which came in his sophomore season, and above all else, the veteran tight end wants to be able to say he helped bring the ultimate prize to the city before he hangs up his cleats for good.
"I think we've got a great group of guys, and we've got a team that can definitely win now, and we need to win now," he said. "I love this organization, and the only thing I can do is do everything in my power to give it back to them. We're going to work our butts off and try to bring a championship back to Philadelphia."
