Dolphins don’t reach long-term deal with Mike Gesicki, who will play season on franchise tag

The Dolphins and Mike Gesicki failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal ahead of the 4 p.m. Friday deadline for players with the franchise tag. The 26-year-old tight end will play out the 2022 season on the one-year tag worth approximately $10.9 million.

The Dolphins in March placed the non-exclusive tag on Gesicki, preventing him from reaching free agency and giving both sides more time to discuss the details of a contract extension. A week later, Gesicki signed the franchise tag.

“I am absolutely open to negotiation, but not really up to me, as a lot of this is not,” Gesicki said in April. “I just kind of go with the flow. If they reach out, my agent will be listening.

“That’s up to them honestly,” he later answered when asked if not receiving a long-term deal bothered him. “I have a good relationship with [general manager] Chris [Grier] and [senior vice president of football and business administration] Brandon [Shore], and this new coaching staff — maybe that has something to do with it. I’m not sure. I don’t really have all the answers, but I do know the kind of person that I am and the worker that I am. I’m just going to go back out there and continue to do what I do, continue to improve and make plays and help this team win football games and eventually get compensated for it.”

Gesicki set career highs for receptions (73) and receiving yards (780) in the 2021 season and is regarded as one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the NFL. Since entering the league as the No. 42 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Gesicki has caught 199 passes for 2,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, the hiring of head coach Mike McDaniel and a new offense that asks tight ends to block frequently — which isn’t a strength of Gesicki’s — has placed his future in Miami in question.

In 2021, Gesicki was asked to pass block on just 11 of his 827 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He also ranked 34th among tight ends with 234 run-blocking snaps. According to Next Gen Stats, Gesicki lined up out wide or in the slot on 79 percent of his snaps. Only 18 percent of his snaps came from a tight alignment.

For comparison, fellow Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe, Gesicki’s draftmate who re-signed to the team on a two-year, $7 million deal this offseason, had 90 pass-blocking snaps and 322 run-blocking snaps in 2021. Smythe lined up out wide or in the slot on 20 percent of his snaps and had a tight alignment on 74 percent of his snaps.

However, Gesicki, along with McDaniel, have downplayed questions about Gesicki’s fit in the system.

“He’s been as impressive as any player on the team in terms of going after a challenge,” McDaniel said of Gesicki in June. “You guys can probably rattle off the stats, but three-point [stance] wasn’t his primary position and he’s been working diligently in the run and pass game to do things that this offense can feature without taking away the stuff that has made him who he is, and there is a piece of that in the offense. We’re always tailoring what we do to the skill set of our players. He’s really attacked it with full vigor and has done a great job of working on his footwork in the run game. I’m hoping that carries over to pads when that happens in whatever month that is.”

Gesicki was a frequent attendee during the team’s offseason workout program, and a lack of a long-term deal is not expected to impact his attendance at training camp. Dolphins veterans will report to the team’s practice facility on July 26. Since Gesicki signed his franchise tag, he is technically under contract and failure to show up to training camp would result in daily fines.

Gesicki is the only remaining member of the Dolphins’ 2018 draft class who has yet to sign an extension with the team. Smythe, inside linebacker Jerome Baker and kicker Jason Sanders have all received new deals from the team.

In the past year, multiple tight ends have signed deals whose average annual value far exceeds the $10.9 million Gesicki will make in 2022. Last September, the Baltimore Ravens’ Mark Andrews signed a four-year, $56 million extension. Dallas Goedert — who was selected seven picks after Gesicki in the 2018 Draft — agreed to a four-year, $57 million extension with the Philadelphia Eagles. And David Njoku, who like Gesicki received the franchise tag in March, agreed to a four-year, $56.75 million extension with the Cleveland Browns in May.

The Dolphins will have the option to place the franchise tag on Gesicki again next offseason if the two sides cannot come to an agreement on an extension. However, using the tag for a second consecutive year would come with a price tag of 120% of Gesicki’s first franchise tag salary.

Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz also failed to receive a new deal ahead of Friday’s deadline.