Shortly after news emerged that Rhett Ellison was considering retirement, the Giants tight end will follow through. Ellison announced his retirement Monday. He played eight NFL seasons.
The 31-year-old blocking tight end saw his 2019 season end because of a concussion, and that setback led to this announcement. Ellison was under contract for the 2020 season, at a career-high $4.9MM base salary, but will step away from the game instead.
Ellison signed a four-year, $18MM deal with the Giants in 2017 and played in 40 games with the team. He spent his first four seasons with the Vikings, arriving in Minnesota as a 2012 fourth-round pick. Ellison caught 118 passes for 1,189 yards and seven touchdowns in his 113-game career, working alongside Kyle Rudolph and then Evan Engram.
A USC alum, Ellison posted a career-high 272 receiving yards in 2018. Ellison helped the Giants during Engram’s latest injury-marred season, but the concussion he sustained resulted in the Giants finishing the season without their top two tight ends.
The Giants have Engram under contract through 2020 but can control him through 2021 via the fifth-year option. They have been linked to Jason Witten, whom new OC Jason Garrett coached for nine seasons in Dallas, but nothing on that front has emerged in weeks.
Good Decision.
You can’t tell the effect those concussions may have for you down the line.
The Giants don’t need another OLD TE. Witten stay far away. It’s bad enough they have Garret.