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Why 49ers’ Garrett Celek loses roster spot after 2019 training camp

By James Jones

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 06: Tight end Garrett Celek #88 of the San Francisco 49ers is attended to by staff prior to the start of the game against the Houston Texans at Candlestick Park on October 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 06: Tight end Garrett Celek #88 of the San Francisco 49ers is attended to by staff prior to the start of the game against the Houston Texans at Candlestick Park on October 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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After a down year in 2018, ending the season in the league’s concussion protocol and with offseason back surgery, tight end Garrett Celek’s days with the San Francisco 49ers appear to be numbered.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Garrett Celek has been a staple on the roster for some of the greatest games the team has played the last seven years. Since he signed as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2012 he has been a part of two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl.

The backup was even the recipient of a new mantra after a Week 10 matchup against the New York Giants in 2017.

The descriptive “Celek Time” was coined by head coach Kyle Shanahan after Celek registered catches on three successive plays in that game. The last one ending in a 47-yard touchdown.

From that moment, his teammates have never missed a chance to make it known what time it is if he completes a great play with a long catch or touchdown.

Those times have come at a premium the last year. After posting five catches for 90 yards and two scores in 2018, Celek is most likely at the end of his time on the 49ers roster and possibly the NFL.

There are legitimate reasons why Celek will lose his roster spot after training camp ends this August. We’ll detail them here.

First and foremost is the 49ers starting tight end, George Kittle, and his mark of 88 catches, 1,377 yards and five touchdowns last season. He now owns the single-season NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end.

The production Kittle has shown makes the backup tight end spot(s), while important, a position where Shanahan can look to get younger.

He and general manager John Lynch appeared to do just that when they drafted Kaden Smith out of Stanford in the sixth round of the NFL Draft last spring.

Smith, while not as fast as Celek, does have large, strong hands — an attribute he used in college to come down with contested passes. Projecting as a backup as well, he stands to make Celek expendable.

Celek was also forced to undergo offseason back surgery and is still in the league’s concussion protocol as former 49ers senior reporter Joe Fann stated:

The fact Celek still has not been cleared by the league to exit the concussion protocol, almost seven months after he suffered the injury, is cause for concern.

Also having had his back surgery around the beginning of June, and expects to miss two months at least, does not bode well for him either.

Whatever time Celek misses once camp opens on July 26, will be time that Smith, Ross Dwelley, and Levine Toilolo will be able to showcase their abilities in hopes of unseating him.

Next. 3 San Francisco 49ers on their final straw in 2019. dark

These issues by themselves wouldn’t necessarily be cause for alarm. Group them together, and they almost certainly signal the end for Celek’s days in a 49ers uniform.