New York Giants’ tight end Rhett Ellison announces retirement

New York Giants tight end Rhett Ellison has announced his retirement from the NFL. Ellison, 31, played eight seasons in the NFL. He spent three seasons with the Giants after spending the first five years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings.

Ellison suffered a concussion vs. the Jets on Nov. 10 and did not play in the final six games of the 2019 season. There had been some speculation in recent weeks that Ellison would not return to the Giants or the NFL. He has now confirmed that.

“The past few weeks, it’s kind of been an emotional rollercoaster,” Ellison said in a statement released by the Giants. “But the overwhelming feeling I have is gratitude. Just thinking back to all the people in my life, even before I put pads on, that were able to nurture and grow the gifts God put into me and make this career possible. I think that was the biggest thing that was the fun part about the retirement process, which is reflecting on those people, thanking those people, reaching out and just the lessons they taught me, the tools they gave me for my life after football.”

Ellison caught 67 passes in three seasons with the Giants, finishing with 118 career receptions. Ellison was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota in 2012.

With Ellison’s retirement, the Giants will save $5 million in cap space and carry $2.188 million in dead money for the upcoming season.