Garrett Celek announces his retirement

Per his wife’s instagram, tight end Garrett Celek has announced his retirement.

Celek appeared in five games for the 49ers this season. He’s been with the team since 2012 and is widely regarded as a team favorite. “Celek time” was a real thing, and they used to break down the huddle in some practices with it. Celek announced his retirement later on Friday afternoon:

Celek likely won’t be missed on the field, but he was universally loved around the locker room these past eight seasons. We wish him the best of luck moving forward.

This is the time of year when teams are filling out the bottom of their roster. The San Francisco 49ers signed 14 free agents earlier this week. Teams can go back to having 90 men on their roster during the offseason, so expect a lot of movement on the roster over the next couple of months. That period will include free agency and the NFL Draft.

On Friday, the 49ers signed center Jake Brendel. He spent the preseason with the Denver Broncos, where he played 141 snaps. Brendel did not play a regular-season snap in 2019. Brendel played 176 snaps during the regular season in 2018 with the Miami Dolphins and 67 snaps with the Dolphins in 2017. He only played one snap in 2016. Brendel an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2016 by the Dallas Cowboys.

Brendel will have an uphill battle to make the roster as the 49ers have a top-five center in Weston Richburg and a competent backup that has experience in Kyle Shanahan’s offense in Ben Garland.