Giants tight end Rhett Ellison has announced his retirement from football after eight seasons in the NFL, the team announced Monday morning. 

"The past few weeks, it's kind of been an emotional rollercoaster," Ellison said in a statement on the team website. "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 suffered a concussion back in Week 10's matchup with the Jets, and never quite recovered from it, missing the remainder of the season due to the injury.

The Giants have released tight end Scott Simonson, SNY's Ralph Vacchiano confirmed on Monday.

Simonson played for both the Raiders and Panthers before signing with the Giants prior to the 2018 season. He played in all 16 games in 2018, and caught his first (and only) career touchdown in Week 16 against the Colts.

Simonson was injured in training camp last season and released in September, but was re-signed for the remainder of the year in November. He appeared in two games, catching two passes for 11 yards.

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The Giants are already projected to have about $60 million in salary cap space to spend in free agency, and the truth is they may not need it all. Giants co-owner John Mara seemed to indicate as much in a radio interview last month when he called free agency "a double-edged sword."

"If you think free agency is going to fix all your problems, you are going to be sadly disappointed," he said on WFAN. "We are not going to be hog wild in there and spend it all."

Given that, there doesn't seem to be a need for the Giants to add even more cap room over the next few months by cutting some of their more expensive, veteran players. There will undoubtedly be a few cap casualties, especially with a new coach taking over, but with no financial need for downsizing, a few of the players on the brink might be spared.

The Giants will be without tight ends Rhett Ellison and Scott Simonson for their Week 17 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the team announced.

Ellison has been out since Week 10 as he recovers from a concussion, while Simonson is also recovering from a concussion that he suffered during practice this week.

Rookie tight end Kaden Smith will get the start, as he is coming off a strong performance against the Washington Redskins. Smith had six receptions for 35 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime.

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It took until the end of a dismal and disappointing season, but Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley reminded everyone why the Giants' future is bright.

Both players looked as good as they ever have as they put on dazzling displays in the Giants' wild, 41-35 overtime win over the Washington Redskins. Jones, the rookie quarterback who missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, completed 28-of-42 passes for a career-high 352 yards and a career-best five touchdowns. And Barkley, in by far the finest game of his young career, rushed 22 times for 189 yards and caught four passes for 90 yards and scored twice, too.

For Jones, it was his third game of the season with at least four touchdown passes and fourth game with at least four touchdowns overall. And Barkley set his career best with 279 total yards.

Giants linebacker Deone Bucannon was a late add to the team's injury report on Saturday and is now listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Redskins with an illness.

Bucannon began the season with the Buccaneers, playing mostly on special teams, but was cut prior to Week 6. He debuted for the Giants in Week 8 and has steadily seen his usage increase. 

Kevin Zeitler was not listed on the Giants' injury report on Friday and is likely to suit up on Sunday against the Redskins.

This is good news for Daniel Jones, who "barring anything crazy" will start for Big Blue as it faces off against Dwayne Haskins and Adrian Peterson. 

Zeitler injured his ankle in the fourth quarter against the Eagles two weeks ago and was carted off the field. He missed last week's game against the Dolphins.

The Dolphins will get some added help this Sunday when they try to defeat a New York team for the second time, as WRs DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson have been cleared from the concussion protocol and were removed from the game's injury status report.

Parker, who signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension earlier this week, suffered the injury during last week's loss to the Jets when he was tackled after catching a pass and hit his head on the field.

Wilson also suffered the injury last week against the Jets.

Eli Manning will start his second consecutive game this weekend for the Giants after Pat Shurmur announced that Daniel Jones remains out with a high ankle sprain.

SNY's Ralph Vacchiano reported earlier this week that it was "likely" Manning would start against the Dolphins as Jones continues to recover from the injury.

With the rest of the season still in limbo, Manning will at the very least get to play one final home game for the Giants on Sunday to potentially cap off his 16-year career in New York.

Daniel Jones was seen at Giants practice on Friday without a boot on his foot, showing progress regarding his sprained ankle, but the rookie quarterback did not practice and is unlikely to play against the Eagles on Monday night.

Veteran QB Eli Manning is expected get the start against Philadelphia in his place, as the Giants look to halt an eight-game skid.

With Jones' ankle already improving and him no longer in need of a protective boot, the idea of Jones returning to the field again this season is certainly trending upward.

The Giants will continue their trend of missing keys pieces of their team against the Packers this week, as Golden Tate, Jabrill Peppers, Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison and Zak DeOssie have been ruled out for Sunday's matchup.

DeOssie did not practice this week with knee/wrist injuries and was believed to potentially be heading to the injured reserve, but head coach Pat Shurmer said nothing was official yet and that DeOssie was held out of practice Friday to be evaluated--DeOssie was ruled out for Sunday's game later in the day than the rest of the players.

Tate and Peppers were both injured in last week's loss to the Bears. 

As expected, Sterling Shepard, Janoris Jenkins and Nate Solder have been cleared from the concussion protocol and will play this Sunday against the Bears, the Giants announced on Friday.

Shepard hasn't played since Week 5 and also missed the Giants' game during Week 2 after suffering his first concussion during Week 1. Shepard initially thought he would be OK to return against the Cowboys after his second concussion, but reported concussion like symptoms two days prior to the Week 9 matchup and remained out.

Jenkins and Solder both exited the Week 10 matchup with the Jets with concussions, but luckily the Giants had a bye week afterwards, so the duo will not miss a single game.

The Giants announced Friday morning that they'll be without the top two tight ends on their depth chart this Sunday against the Bears, as Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison have both officially been listed as out.

Additionally, Janoris Jenkins, Nate Solder and Sterling Shepard have yet to be cleared from the concussion protocol, and will be evaluated later today for a final decision. However, Pat Shurmur expects all three to be cleared and ready to go for Sunday.

Engram will continue to nurse the mid-foot sprain he suffered back in Week 9, as Ellison moves on in his recovery from a concussion.

Coming off the bye week, the Giants will be traveling to Chicago to face the Bears, a team that has lost five of its last six contests. But most of the struggles with this squad is due to its offense sputtering. 

Their defense is a different story. 

The Bears own the eighth-best defense in the NFL at the moment, with many playmakers on that side of the ball. But there may be no better duo of pass rushers in the league than the ones the Giants will be facing on Sunday in Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd.

With the Giants down to zero healthy reliable tight ends, the team has re-signed Scott Simonson, reports SNY's Ralph Vacchiano.

Simonson, 27, signed a one-year contract extension with the Giants before the season, but was placed on IR on Aug. 31 due to an ankle injury before being released in September.

Starting tight end Evan Engram is dealing with a mid-foot sprain and missed this past Sunday's game against the Jets, and backup Rhett Ellison is in concussion protocol.

The Giants have placed Rhett Ellison in the concussion protocol after Sunday's loss to the Jets and now have just one healthy tight end on the roster heading into their bye week.

Ellison joins Janoris Jenkins and Nate Solder in the protocol after the trio all left the game at different points. He caught all three of his targets against the Jets for 42 yards of offense before exiting the game.

Sterling Shepard has been in and out of the protocol all season and missed the big all-New York matchup on Sunday.

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The Giants and Jets are a combined 3-14, one year after going a combined 9-23, one year after going a combined 8-24. That's a 20-61 record over the last 2 ½ seasons, for a "winning" percentage of .246.

So no, the Giants and Jets don't match up particularly well with the rest of the professional football world right now. But how do they match up with each other?

In advance of their big showdown on Sunday at the Meadowlands, let's take a look:

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants and Jets are a combined 3-14, one year after going a combined 9-23, one year after going a combined 8-24. That's a 20-61 record over the last 2 ½ seasons, for a "winning" percentage of .246.

So no, the Giants and Jets don't match up particularly well with the rest of the professional football world right now. But how do they match up with each other?

In advance of their big showdown on Sunday at the Meadowlands, let's take a look:

The Giants waived RB Paul Perkins on Monday, in order to make room for rookie TE Kaden Smith, who was claimed off waivers after being let go by the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

Perkins, a former fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft by the Giants, had previously been inactive for New York in both games to start the season, and missed all of the 2018 season on the reserve/non-injury list after tearing his pectoral muscle last offseason.

The UCLA product played a total of 25 games for the Giants, racking up 546 rushing yards on 153 attempts (3.6 YPA) and another 208 receiving yards on 23 catches.

Evan Engram had injuries plague his 2018 season, but he's back to reverse course this season. Can he make a leap in Year 3? Here's a closer look at what to expect in training camp for the tight ends...

Projected Starters: Evan Engram

Projected Backups: Rhett Ellison