Eagles tight end Brent Celek has agreed to a pay reduction for the 2017 season, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Scheduled to earn $4MM next year, Celek will instead take in only $3MM.
Philadelphia is right up against the salary cap at the moment: at last check, the Eagles had less than a quarter-million dollars in cap room, second-least in the NFL. Celek’s paycut will clear $1MM in cap space, but that won’t allow the Eagles to re-enter the free agent market. Indeed, Philadelphia will probably need to restructure other contracts (or release certain players) in order to sign its draft class and account for unforeseen charges throughout the season.
Celek, 32, was already set to earn $2MM in 2017 guarantees, and this pay reduction won’t affect that total. Having agreed to a contract extension last January, Celek is under contract with the Eagles thorough the 2018 campaign. Playing in a new scheme under head coach Doug Pederson, Celek saw his role drastically reduced last year, as he managed only 14 receptions for 155 and no touchdowns, all of which were career-lows.
Glad he’s sticking around, he’s been a warrior his whole career.
Totally agree. To me, he’s a great example of the skill set and mindset that a TE should have. He’s capable of putting up big offensive numbers but also more than competent at blocking and the other nitty gritty tasks that don’t hit the highlight reel. It just depends on the scheme. And he’s down to do whatever is asked of him, which is a contagious attitude, in the best way possible.