Garrett Celek wraps up ‘Celek Time’ after 2019 season.
49ers tight end Garrett Celek on Friday announced his retirement from the NFL after eight seasons via Instagram.
“I can’t thank the 49ers organization enough for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and all of the countless relationships I’ve made along the way, especially my Tight Ends, thanks for supplying me with endless stories and memories,” he wrote. “Niner Faithful, thank you for cheering me on these past 8 seasons, love y’all, Celektime is clockin out ✌🏼”
The 2019 campaign was a particularly tough one for Celek, 31, who entered the year as the team’s presumed No. 2 tight end.
Offseason back surgery forced him to spend the offseason on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He returned in Week 10, and saw minimal action in five games before going back on IR with more back issues. Celek also missed the final game of the 2018 campaign with a concussion.
San Francisco signed Celek as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He stuck with the team through four head coaches, and along with Joe Staley was one of two remaining members of the team that played in Super Bowl XLVII.
Celek finished his career with 82 receptions for 1,104 yards and 12 touchdowns. His best year was in 2016 when he hauled in a career-best 29 catches for a career-high 350 yards and three touchdowns. Celek’s career-high in touchdowns came in 2017 during Kyle Shanahan’s first season as head coach when the veteran tight end posted four TD receptions.
The 2019 season was the final one on Celek’s contract, and a return to the 49ers was unlikely with their younger depth at tight end emerging throughout the 2019 campaign.
Celek spent his entire career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Hit tip to a hell of a career.
Former Michigan State tight end Garrett Celek has announced his retirement after an eight-year NFL career. The 31-year-old Cincinnati native made the announcement on his Instagram page Friday.
“I can’t thank the 49ers organization enough for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and all of the countless relationships I’ve made along the way, especially my tight ends,” Celek wrote on the Instagram post. “Thanks for supplying me with endless stories and memories. Niner Faithful, thank you for cheering me on these past eight seasons. Love y’all. Celektime is clockin’ out.”
Celek went un-drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, but was quickly scooped up by the San Francisco 49ers. He made the 53-man roster that season and has been with the franchise for his entire career. Known primarily as a blocking tight end, Celek finishes his professional career with 82 receptions, 1,104 receiving yards, and 12 touchdowns.
Celek played five games in 2019, but was placed on season-ending injured reserve after re-injuring his surgically repaired back. He told media during Super Bowl week that he was contemplating retirement.
Congrats to Celek for grinding out a great NFL career.
San Francisco and Kansas City spent heavily to get to the Super Bowl.
In baseball, we’ve heard a lot of talk about the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox “buying’’ championships. They simply outspend the competition and win. You don’t hear nearly as much about buying championships in the NFL.
That’s because there’s a hard salary cap and, relatively speaking, there’s not a great deal of difference in how much teams spend. But this year is different. This year, either the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers will come close to buying a championship.
The Chiefs and 49ers made it to the Super Bowl by spending big in the 2019 season. Neither was at the top but they were close to it. At the end of the season, the Chiefs had spent $203 million in cap space. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars spent more. The 49ers weren’t far behind at $189.1. The 2020 cap is expected to be right around $200 million.
Let’s delve more closely into how the Chiefs and 49ers spent in 2019 and how they’ll spend going forward.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
The Chiefs are incredibly lucky that Patrick Mahomes is still in his rookie contract. That makes the reigning MVP a bargain by any means. Mahomes counted just $4.4 million against the cap. That allowed the Chiefs to spend heavily at receiver and defensive line.
The story could be the same in 2020 because Mahomes is scheduled to count $5.2 million against the cap. But that could change dramatically because Mahomes now is eligible for a contract extension that will break the bank. Mahomes could become the first player to earn $40 million per season. The Chiefs would be wise to sign him immediately because the market for quarterbacks is only going to continue to climb. The Chiefs already have $188 million committed to the 2020 cap and that’s with only 47 players under contract.
Veterans Terrell Suggs and LeSean McCoy headline a list of veteran free agents that almost certainly will not return. Others will be asked to restructure their contracts, likely starting with receiver Tyreek Hill, who has a $17.65 million cap figure.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Just think back to general manager John Lynch’s playing career for a look at how and why his roster and money is allocated. Lynch played on those great Tampa Bay defenses of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those teams were built around the defensive line (Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice). Lynch is taking the same approach in San Francisco with $50.1 million allocated toward the cap. You can’t argue with that thinking because the defense is the main reason the 49ers are in the Super Bowl.
But Lynch’s 49ers have a better offense than the Bucs of their glory years. That’s because Lynch isn’t afraid to spend money on offense. He has $50 million dedicated to quarterbacks and running backs and $30 million to the offensive line.
However, there is potential cap trouble brewing in San Francisco. Tight end George Kittle is looking for a contract extension and it will be a large one. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, cornerback Jason Verrett and tight end Garrett Celek are potential free agents and probably will be allowed to walk.
The league likes to talk about how its salary cap creates parity. There’s some truth in that. But not this year. The Chiefs and 49ers have shown that spending lots of money can get you to the Super Bowl.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 49ers sent Garrett Celek to IR, and added rookie Daniel Helm off the practice squad to replace him.
The 49ers’ major injuries continued stacking up Thursday when they placed tight end Garrett Celek on Injured Reserve due to a back injury.
Celek had back surgery in the offseason and started the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He returned in Week 10 against the Seahawks and saw limited playing time across five games. He played a season-high 23 snaps against the Cardinals in Week 11, but his playing time rapidly decreased until he was in for just six snaps against Baltimore and seven against New Orleans.
He was still experiencing some of the effects of that back injury and it forced the 49ers to cut his season short. Celek will end the final year of his contract with the 49ers on IR.
Undrafted rookie Daniel Helm was elevated from the practice squad to replace Celek. The Duke product originally signed with the Chargers before making his way to San Francisco during camp. He played some tight end and fullback for the 49ers during the preseason and acquitted himself well enough to land a practice squad spot.
Helm had 69 catches for 767 yards and six touchdowns across 38 games for the Blue Devils. He had two catches for 16 yards in the preseason.
The 49ers announced safety Jacob Thieneman would replace Helm on the practice squad. Thieneman signed with the Giants as an undrafted rookie out of Purdue following this year’s draft. He was released and spent time with the Colts before they released him ahead of final roster cuts.
Thieneman played in 34 games for the Boilermakers and posted 170 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, 11 pass breakups and three interceptions.
The 49ers made a pair of tweaks to their roster just in time for Monday night’s game vs. the Seahawks.
The 49ers made a roster move ahead of their Monday night showdown with the Seahawks. They officially activated tight end Garrett Celek off the PUP list, and waived cornerback Dontae Johnson to make room on the roster.
This move suggests two things. First, tight end George Kittle, who was already doubtful with knee and ankle injuries, will probably not play now that Celek is activated. Johnson’s departure is also a good sign for cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who’s been out since Week 3 with a foot injury.
Celek has been on the PUP list since undergoing back surgery during the offseason. His three-week practice window was opened the week leading up to the Seahawks game. San Francisco only needed to only see a week of action from Celek before putting him on the 53-man roster. He’d worked well as the second tight end during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s first two seasons. Ross Dwelley holds that spot now, but having Celek will give the 49ers an additional body to try and adequately replace Kittle’s production.
