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The Philadelphia Eagles released veteran tight end Brent Celek following the team’s Super Bowl win after 11 seasons. He went unsigned in the months since, and it was reported that he intends on announcing his retirement as an Eagle on Friday.
Some news: @BrentCelek has informed the @Eagles he is retiring and will release a farewell statement on the team's website Friday morning. The team's longest-tenured player was released after 11 seasons in March. Attracted interest from other teams but decided against playing.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 31, 2018
Celek was drafted in 2007 and was one of few remaining pieces from the Andy Reid era in Philly. The tight end will finish his NFL career just two receiving yards shy of 5,000 and having nabbed 31 touchdowns.
Not just an essential part of the offense —particular on pass blocking —, Celek was a leader in the locker room too. He took Zach Ertz under his wing, and helped evolve the Eagles’ use of two tight end-sets over the years.
Selfishly, I was hoping Celek wouldn’t sign somewhere else this offseason. Seeing him play in anything other than Eagles Green would have been weird, but it also wouldn’t have made sense to bring him back on — even with a smaller contract.
Now, he’ll retire an Eagle, just over six months after winning a Super Bowl for the city that loved him. He’s going out on top, and deserves every post-career honor that should come his way.