The Miami Dolphins are hanging onto the top pass-catching tight end slated for free agency this offseason, securing him in Miami for at least another year.
The Dolphins utilized their franchise tag for the 2022 season, placing it on tight end Mike Gesicki ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, the team announced.
Tagging Gesicki, 26, retains one of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite targets. Gesicki posted career highs in receptions (73) and receiving yards (780) in 2021. He was second on the team to rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in both categories.
The franchise tag value for a tight end is $10.9 million. That figure, which could come into question over his positional alignment, will eat into the Dolphins’ previously league-leading $63.3 million in cap space.
Gesicki and the Dolphins can still work on a long-term contract while he is locked in for 2022. Free agent negotiations can begin on Monday ahead of the start of free agency on March 16.
The Dolphins used the franchise tag for the first time since 2018, when it was placed on wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
While Gesicki, at a rangy 6-foot-6 and 249 pounds, is an exceptional receiver, there are questions of whether his run-blocking will be enough in new coach Mike McDaniel’s offense. He has spent more snaps the past three seasons between the slot and on the boundary as a receiver than in a traditional tight end alignment.
Because of this, Gesicki could file a grievance, appealing to the NFL that he deserves the receiver designation instead of tight end. The franchise tag value for a receiver is $18.4 million, a difference of $7.5 million from the tight end tag. When an appeal of that kind is filed, the two sides often meet in the middle in arbitration, meaning Gesicki could then get somewhere around $14 million.
During a possible appeal process, Gesicki would use the receiver tag designation until the final decision is reached. It shouldn’t alter too much of how the Dolphins operate in free agency, because that is money the team keeps in reserve and has access to through cap carryover from last season.
If Gesicki wins, the Dolphins have until a July 15 deadline to rescind the tag, the same date they are given to reach a multi-year deal.
Blocking at the tight end position will be pivotal under McDaniel, because the system will feature the outside-zone run. New Dolphins tight ends coach Jon Embree called blocking from his group “an integral part of our offense.”
“It’s important because our system is based off of outside zone,” Embree has previously said. “[To] get on the edge or to get the corner, so to speak, it starts with your tight end.”
McDaniel, speaking from the NFL scouting combine last week, didn’t seem to have any qualms about whether Gesicki fits into the offense.
“I have no problem, no hesitation or no concern of Mike being able to contribute as a blocker,” McDaniel said.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier acknowledged that Gesicki needs to improve his run blocking, but he expressed optimism at the combine that he will turn it around in that area under Embree, who has developed San Francisco 49ers All-Pro tight end George Kittle into one of the league’s all-round best.
“[Gesicki] knows that the blocking part of it will be emphasized, and he’s going to have to buy into that part,” Grier said. “Not to say that he hasn’t, but he can better at it. And I think he knows that.”
The other potential option for a franchise tag this offseason was defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, but his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, indicated to WSVN that hadn’t been part of his discussions with the Dolphins on Sunday night. ESPN then reported on Monday that Gesicki was a “prime candidate” for the tag from the Dolphins.
On Miami’s remaining offseason to-do list, it will work to reach a new deal with Ogbah as he hits the open market. The Dolphins will also like to keep Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard happy with a restructured contract.
Between free agency next week and the late April draft, the team will surely be looking to improve its offensive line, pick up another receiver to pair with Waddle and Gesicki for Tagovailoa and likely add a running back and inside linebacker.
Gesicki is one of three tight ends in the NFL receiving the franchise tag, along with the Dallas Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz and Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku, a former University of Miami standout. Other players around the league getting tagged were Kansas City Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown, Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Cam Robinson and Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III. Packers receiver Davante Adams is expected to be tagged after quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday decision to remain in Green Bay.
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