Domo: Eagles' Celek takes tough to another level

IT WAS CLASSIC Brent Celek.

The Eagles were having one of their "live" training camp practice periods last week at the NovaCare Complex, which means tackling and hitting were permitted.

The 31-year-old tight end took a short pass from Sam Bradford, turned to run with the ball, and was immediately met by safety Rodney McLeod, who drilled him full-force in the sternum.

Most players would have been knocked on their butt and been slow, very slow, to get up.

Celek? McLeod's hit did bring him to one knee, but the rest of his body refused to budge. Except for his left knee, he never showed any other sign of retreat.

There was no outward acknowledgement of pain. He rose quickly, gave McLeod an "atta boy" tap on the top of his helmet and trotted back to the huddle.

I've been covering pro football for 33 years, and Celek is the closest thing to indestructible I've seen.

The guy once played almost an entire season with a sports hernia and a torn hip labrum and never missed a single damn practice and never appeared on the team's injury report. Caught 62 passes and averaged 13.1 yards per catch that season.

He's entering his 10th NFL season and has missed just one game, which is unfathomable when you consider the no-holds-barred way he plays the game, Think of a '57 Buick in a demolition derby and you've got a pretty good picture.

It still bugs him that he missed that one game - a meaningless 21-point Thursday night loss to Cincinnati in 2012 at the tail end of Andy Reid's 4-12 swan song.

He had suffered a slight concussion in the previous game. If he had had a full week to recover, he's absolutely certain he would have been able to play the next week. But because of the short week, he never was able to go through all of the concussion protocol.

"That still pisses me off," Celek said. "But it's in the past now. I got my one. Hopefully never again."

Celek has been the ultimate team player for the Eagles. He always has done whatever his coaches have needed him to do, without complaint.

His 371 receptions are the fifth most in franchise history. But when Zach Ertz's arrival three years ago required him to do more blocking and less catching, he did so willingly.

When the Eagles went to more three-wide receiver sets last season and his playing time plummeted from 69 percent of the snaps to 52 percent, he kept his mouth shut.

"Honestly" he said Sunday, "it's just the way I was raised. That's how my grandparents are. That's how my parents are. It's how everyone in my family is.

"It's not all about one person. It's bigger than that. It's about this whole group of individuals that's out here. This organization. This city. You just have to do what you're told. Whatever situation you're in. You always have a boss somewhere. Why make it difficult for them?

"Whatever my role is on a play - whether it's blocking running a route, pass-blocking - I'm going to do it to the best of my ability and get it done for the betterment of this team."

Celek didn't catch more than 32 passes in any of the last three seasons under Chip Kelly. But he has maintained his value by being one of the league's better blocking tight ends.

Both his playing time and catch total could increase this season in Doug Pederson's offense. Pederson likes to use a lot of two- and even three-tight end sets.

"They did a lot of good stuff," Celek said, referring to the multiple-tight end sets Pederson and Andy Reid used in Kansas City. "They were able to get mismatches in the passing game. And also, in the run game, they were able to do some things because they had big bodies there on the edge.

"I love it. The more tight ends the better. You guys know how I feel about that."

Celek signed a three-year, $12 million contract extension with the Eagles in late January. Six million of that is guaranteed. He was scheduled to become a free agent after this season.

The main reason the Eagles approached him about an extension was to lower his 2016 cap number (from $5 million to $2 million), but it also was a clear indication that they wanted to keep him around for at least the next two years. They understand his value both on the field and in the locker room as one of the team leaders.

"It was something that worked out for both of us," he said. "I didn't want to leave this town. I think it's pretty special to start your career and end your career in the same place. If that's able to happen, that'd be great.

"But they've taken care of me here. I owe everything to them. I owe everything to this city. This is my home now."

@Pdomo

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog