New York Giants TE Rhett Ellison announces his retirement

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants tight end Rhett Ellison has retired after eight seasons in the NFL.

Ellison played at Southern California before being selected in the fourth-round of the 2012 draft by the Vikings. He spent five years in Minnesota before joining the Giants as a free agent in 2017, signing a four-year contract.

As a Giant Ellison started 33 games and caught 67 passes for 674 yards and four touchdowns. His 2019 season was cut short due to a concussion suffered against the Jets on Nov. 10.

Ellison was a strong blocker, so his value to the Giants was not measured by his statistics.

“The past few weeks, it’s kind of been an emotional roller coaster,” Ellison said. “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.”