Rhett Ellison signing made official by Giants

The New York Giants made the free-agent signing of Rhett Ellison official on Friday afternoon. The tight end/fullback said in a release issued by the team that joining the Giants was something that was a long time in the making.

Ellison, who played collegiately for USC, was a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. He said on Friday that he visited the Giants prior to the draft and hoped he would end up with them.

“It just kind of came together at the right time,” Ellison said on his first visit to the Giants’ locker room in the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. “It was unbelievable. It was cool to see that they were still following and still keeping an eye on me, and still wanted me to come here. It was the best-case scenario.”

GM Jerry Reese lauded Ellison’s blocking as a reason for the signing.

“Rhett is a versatile, hard-nosed player who we feel is one of the best blocking tight ends in the league,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “He also has good hands and is a very capable receiver in the pass game.”