Apparently new head coach Doug Pederson and V.P. Howie Roseman agree on one thing— the Eagles will go to war in 2016 with their two veteran tight ends in place. That is final. Screw the salary cap space.
TE Brent Celek signed a new three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday. The deal, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Caplan, is worth $13 million and includes $6 million in guaranteed money.
Celek was scheduled to make $5 million in 2016 in the final year of the six-year contract he signed in 2009. By converting some of that salary into bonus money, the new deal spreads the salary-cap hit out over the length of the contract.
The day before, the Eagles announced a new five-year, $42.5 million contract for 3-year vet tight end Zach Ertz. The 25-year-old Ertz said his goal was to play his entire career with the Eagles.
“When people think of great tight ends in Philly, I want to be the guy that they think of,” Ertz said.
Suddenly I have to do a double-take when Woody talks about his beloved two tight-end sets. It kinda looks like Pederson and Howie are leaning in the same direction.
Ertz credited Celek for his leadership and guidance over the past three seasons.
“Brent Celek has been unbelievable,” Ertz said after signing his own contract Monday. “I owe a lot of this deal to him, because of the player that I’m able to emulate each and every day during practice. The way he approaches the game both on and off the field is something that I never take for granted.”
One may be forgiven for questioning the extravagance of spending a $5 milz cap hit on the 31-year-old Celek for 2016. But the expectation around the NFL is that under new head coach Doug Pederson, the tight end position will become an even bigger part of the team’s passing game.
Celek, a fifth-round pick in 2007 out of Cincinnati, worked his way up the depth chart at tight end over his first two seasons and wound up being a full-time starter in his third year.
This commitment by the Eagles to a veteran tight end group underscores the statements made this week by new OC Frank Reich:
“You want to be able to impose your will on the defense,” Reich told Dave Spadaro. “That means you want to be able to run it when you want to run it, and how you want to run it. And then you want to be able to throw it. You want to be able to set the tempo — whether that’s fast or slowed down.”
Both Brent Celek and Zach Ertz understand the legacy of the tight end as a receiver in the Holmgren/Reid/Pederson vision:
“I’m excited to be in the system,” Ertz said. “I’m extremely excited to be in this offense. I think the things (Pederson) and Coach Reid have done with tight ends in the past is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Celek, 31, is still a good receiver. He caught 27 passes for 398 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2015. One might also argue his blocking has improved over the past few seasons.
I love Celek’s toughness, too. Maybe that’s an intangible that Pederson wanted to keep around. I know Pederson respects that toughness. I’ve seen two tight ends up close in my lifetime who got the crap beat out of them on every reception— one was Todd Heap and the other is Brent Celek. Both are so alike in their physical and emotional profiles they could be twins. Both embody what it means to play for winning at the expense of concern for ones own body. That’s pretty intense and somewhat amazing in this era of increased sensitivity to bodily harm. Maybe you need to keep that kind of concentrated desire on your roster as long as you can before it ends up in a museum.
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