Dolphins' Mike Gesicki future gets update ahead of training camp

With training camp nearing, the Miami Dolphins may not end up reaching a long-term resolution on Mike Gesicki’s contract situation.

The Miami Dolphins may end up not reaching a resolution on Mike Gesicki’s contract situation.

The Dolphins opted to place the franchise tag on Gesicki on March 8, which was set at a $10.93 million salary. The fourth-year tight end decided to sign the franchise tag tender a week later, although he would have until July 15 to either come to terms with team officials on a long-term deal or play the 2022 season on the one-year tender.

According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Dolphins and Gesicki have “not really engaged in contract negotiations.” He adds that “there's still a lot of work to be done” between the two sides on this matter.

For the moment, the versatile tight end is set to play the upcoming campaign on the franchise tag, and from there, he could hit free agency next year, sign a new multiyear deal, or once again be tagged by the team.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has dealt with this dilemma for much of the past year. He recently noted that during the 2021 season, the team jump-started discussions with the tight end over a possible new contract deal, but the two sides failed to come to terms on such an agreement.

From Gesicki’s standpoint, as he mentioned in April, he has been open to negotiating with Miami team officials on this matter.

“I mean, I don’t think anybody across the league would be mad about a situation that you get to come back, you’re obviously getting an increase in financial purposes and that kind of stuff,” Gesicki said. “It’s obviously not the goal, the end-all, be-all goal. … I am absolutely open to negotiation, but it’s not really up to me, as a lot of this is not. So I just kind of go with the flow and if they reach out, then my agent will be listening.”

As it stands, Gesicki's $10.93 million salary for the upcoming season is set to have him at a tie with Dallas Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz — who was also issued a franchise tag — at eighth among all tight ends. Gesicki is coming off of a season where he recorded career highs across the board, including in receiving yards (780).