11:37am: Ellison’s new one-year deal with the Vikings is worth $2.25MM, per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link).
10:39am: The Vikings have announced a pair of signings, via a press release, confirming their previously-reported agreement with defensive back Marcus Sherels and revealing that they’ve also struck a deal with tight end Rhett Ellison.
Ellison, 27, has spent the last four seasons in Minnesota, having been selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. As the No. 2 option at tight end behind Kyle Rudolph, Ellison enjoyed his best year in 2014, when Rudolph was limited to nine games — in that season, Ellison caught a career-high 19 balls for 208 yards and a touchdown.
Primarily though, Ellison serves as a blocker, as was the case in 2015. Although he appeared in nearly 500 offensive snaps last season, he recorded just 11 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Ellison will be looking to return from a torn patellar tendon that landed him on injured reserve at the end of the 2015 season, keeping him out of action for Minnesota’s Wild Card game in January.
Details on Sherels and his new deal can be found right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I hope Ellison recovers well. He was just starting to peak when he got hurt. Good hands and a devastating blocker.