But through it all, though, Celek’s poise, character and mindset have remained centered.

The exercise to find one word that sums up everything Celek brings to the Eagles’ organization is likely a useless one. And Ertz helpfully points that out.

“There are just too many words,” he says.

Gotcha. The irony here is that while his teammates can go on and on with descriptions about Celek, the veteran tight end has always tried to let his actions speak louder than his words.

The very nature of the tight end position is among the most interesting of any in the game of football. Tight ends need to have the blocking ability of an offensive lineman and the route-running and reliable hands of a wide receiver. It can be a very delicate balance in an otherwise indelicate game. Some tight ends possess one side of that coin, specializing as either a blocker or a receiver. But Celek transcends that divide, proving to be one of the more complete tight ends in the league over the past 10 years.

Tight ends can take a beating on the field. Stay in and chip block here; take on a blitzing linebacker one on one there; sacrifice your body to push the pile forward in goal-line situations. Make no mistake, it takes a toll.

Nine days after the 2007 season ended, Celek had surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. He didn’t miss a game the next season. In fact, Celek, for all his physicality, has missed just one game in his career. That’s it. Celek will play this Sunday just one week after suffering a rib fracture against the Giants. Maybe “beast” is the right word after all.