Garrett Celek
American football player (born 1988)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Garrett Bartholomew Celek[1] (born May 29, 1988)[1] is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Celek signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He is the brother of former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek.
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Celek with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 | |||||||||
| No. 81, 88 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | May 29, 1988 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | La Salle (Cincinnati) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan State (2007–2011) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2012: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early life
Celek attended La Salle High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he played on the football team and was selected to the PrepStar's All-Midwest Team.[2]
College career
As a freshman, Celek played in 12 games and recorded six receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. On September 20, 2008, he caught two passes for 15 yards against Notre Dame to help Michigan State win 23–7.[3]
As a sophomore, Celek played in 10 games and recorded three receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown. On October 10, 2009, he had two receptions for 20 yards against Illinois, in a 24–14 Michigan State victory.[4]
As a junior, Celek played in the first two games on the season, with his performance of September 11, 2010, against Florida Atlantic netting his season total of two receptions for 17 yards against as Michigan State won 30–17.[5]
As a senior, Celek played in 14 games and recorded three receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.[2] On September 10, 2011, he had an eight-yard touchdown reception against Florida Atlantic as Michigan State won 44–0.[6]
In his college career, Celek played four seasons at Michigan State. He recorded 14 receptions for 135 yards and three touchdowns in 38 games and 12 starts.[2]
Professional career
Pre-draft
Coming out of college, Celek was projected by NFL Draft experts and analysts from NFL.com and DraftScout.com to be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. He was rated as the 13th-best tight end available in the Draft, out of the 73 available by DraftScout.com. Although Celek was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, he did participate at Cincinnati's Pro Day.[7]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+3⁄8 in (1.94 m) | 250 lb (113 kg) | 4.72 s | 1.66 s | 2.67 s | 4.49 s | 7.12 s | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | 19 reps | |||
| All values from Cincinnati's Pro Day[7] | ||||||||||||
2012 season
On April 29, 2012, the San Francisco 49ers signed Celek as an undrafted free agent after he went unselected in the 2012 NFL draft. He was signed to a three-year, $1.44 million contract.[8][9] On September 1, 2012, he earned a spot on the 53-man roster.
Celek began his rookie year as the fourth tight end on the depth chart behind veteran Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, and Demarcus Dobbs.[10][11] On October 7, 2012, he made his first career reception against the Buffalo Bills after making his debut against the New York Jets the previous week. Celek finished his rookie season with four receptions for 51 yards and appeared in 13 regular-season contests. The 49ers finished with an 11–4–1 record and appeared in Super Bowl XLVII, losing to the Baltimore Ravens.[12][13]
2013 season
During the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers acquired wide receiver Anquan Boldin in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens. Celek gave the No. 81 jersey he wore as a rookie to Boldin as Boldin had worn it his entire career.[14]
Celek began the regular season as the third tight end behind veteran Vernon Davis and rookie Vance McDonald.[10] He appeared in the season opener and started the following week, but did not make his first catch of the season until Week 3. During that game, Celek only made one reception for 30 yards in the 27–7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Celek finished his second professional season with two catches for 38 yards in 12 games and one start. On January 5, 2014, he made his first postseason catch after catching a pass from Colin Kaepernick and taking it for six yards during a victory over the Green Bay Packers.[15] The 49ers made it to the NFC Championship game that season, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, by a score of 23–17.[16]
2014 season
Celek started the 2014 season, missing the first 11 games with back and hamstring injuries. On November 27, he started his first game of the season during a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The next game, he made his first catch of the season and finished with one reception for 22 yards during a 24–13 road loss to the Oakland Raiders. After returning, Celek was placed on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury during a Week 15 loss to the Seahawks.[17]
Celek was limited to two receptions for 53 yards in 2014 and started one game while only appearing in three.[16]
2015 season
On March 7, 2015, Celek signed a one-year, $710,000 contract to remain with the 49ers. The contract also included a $25,000 signing bonus.[8][18]
Celek began his first season under new head coach Jim Tomsula remaining as the third tight end behind both Davis and McDonald.[10] He started the 49ers' season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, finishing the 20–3 victory with a season-high three receptions and 40 yards. On October 11, 2015, against the New York Giants, Celek caught a five-yard reception from Colin Kaepernick for his first NFL touchdown. On November 8, 2015, he caught two passes for 12 yards and a season-high two touchdowns during a 17–16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Celek finished 2015 with 19 receptions for 186 yards and three touchdown receptions while starting 8 games and appearing in 11.[16]
2016 season
On February 24, 2016, the 49ers signed Celek to a four-year, $10.20 million contract with $3.50 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.50 million.[8]
In his first season under new head coach Chip Kelly, Celek was named the second tight end behind Vance McDonald to begin the season.[10] In the season-opening 28–0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, Celek made one reception for 15 yards. On October 2, 2016, he made a career-high five receptions for a career-high 79 receiving yards during the 49ers' 24–17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On November 27, he caught two passes for 19 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick for his first touchdown of the season during a 24–31 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Celek finished the season with 29 receptions for 350 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and six starts.[19]
2017 season
In 2017, Celek recorded 21 receptions for 336 yards and four touchdowns as the 49ers finished with a 6–10 record.[20][21]
2018 season
In 2018, Celek recorded five receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers finished with a 4–12 record.[22][23]
2019 season
On August 31, 2019, Celek was placed on reserve/PUP to begin the season.[24] He was activated on November 11, prior to the Week 10 matchup against the Seahawks.[25] Celek was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2019.[26] Without Celek, the 49ers reached Super Bowl LIV, but lost 31–20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.[27]
Retirement
On February 7, 2020, Celek announced his retirement from the NFL via Instagram.[28]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2012 | SF | 13 | 0 | 4 | 51 | 12.8 | 35 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | SF | 12 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 26 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | SF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | SF | 11 | 8 | 19 | 186 | 9.8 | 33 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | SF | 16 | 6 | 29 | 350 | 12.1 | 31 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| 2017 | SF | 16 | 13 | 21 | 336 | 16.0 | 61 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | SF | 15 | 1 | 5 | 90 | 18.3 | 41T | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | SF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 91 | 31 | 82 | 1,104 | 13.5 | 61 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
Postseason
Personal life
Celek is the son of Steve and Debbie Celek and is one of six children. He is the younger brother of former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek, who also played under former San Francisco 49ers' head coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia.[2]