Tight End Rhett Ellison Announces His Retirement

The Giants veteran tight end is calling it a career after eight NFL seasons.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Giants tight end Rhett Ellison is calling it a career.

The eight-year NFL veteran joined the Giants in 2017 as a free agent after spending the first five years of his career with the Vikings. As a member of the Giants, Ellison started 33 of the 40 games in which he played, catching 67 out of 94 pass targets for 674 yards and four touchdowns.

"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 saw his 2019 season cut short due to a concussion suffered against the Jets on Nov. 10. Before that injury, he caught 18 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown on a 28-yard throw from Daniel Jones vs. Arizona on Oct. 20.

Before joining the Giants, Ellison had another career scare when he ruptured his patella tendon in 2016. That injury, he said, drove home the realization that one's NFL career could end on a moment's notice. 

"When I ruptured my patella tendon (in 2016), that was the first time I realized, 'Oh wait, this can end at any moment.' Since that injury, it's stuck with me, like, 'Don't take these games for granted. Don't take these opportunities for granted,'" he said.

"My mentality, just from having multiple injuries throughout my career, was you realize how short your time is on the field, and you never really know when it's going to end."

News of Ellison's retirement, which first began to circulate at the combine, leaves the Giants with some uncertainty at tight end despite the emergence of Kaden Smith last year. Evan Engram is still recovering from foot surgery that he had in December and is not expected to be ready to go until training camp. 

Ellison's retirement will yield a $5 million cap savings and $2.188 million in dead money, as he was in the final year of the four-year contract he signed in 2017.


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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.