With limited cap space, ‘all signs’ reportedly point to Mike Gesicki walking in free agency

Gesicki played under the franchise tag this year.

The Miami Dolphins haven’t had a losing season in the three years — that success wouldn’t be possible without a roster of impactful players.

There are plenty of tough decisions as teams look to improve and after five years with Miami, it looks like tight end Mike Gesicki will be high-pointing the football and doing the gritty elsewhere in 2023.

In a recent story from the Miami Herald, beat reporter Daniel Oyefusi noted that “all signs” point to Gesicki leaving Miami in free agency this March. The news isn’t a surprise, many had concerns about Gesicki’s fit in coach Mike McDaniel’s offense, which leverages a blocking tight end and doesn’t necessarily mesh with Gesicki’s go-get-the-ball style.

Gesicki came one touchdown shy of tying his career high, finding the end zone five times in 2022. However, his 32 receptions and 52 targets were the lowest totals since his rookie year.

“I don’t really know how it all works, Gesicki said while cleaning out his locker following the team’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. “I’m going to meet with my agent at some point in the near future. I’m gonna go upstairs and talk to [general manager Chris Grier] and Mike and those guys today and just kind of gauge their expectations and what they’re thinking moving forward to see if I got to keep cleaning out this locker or not. But, ultimately, we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Gesicki scored two touchdowns earlier this season against the Minnesota Vikings and celebrated by doing his version of the gritty, before promising to retire from the dance.

With that said, Gesicki wasn’t entirely truthful with his tweet on Oct. 16. In Miami’s playoff game, Skylar Thompson found him for a seven-yard touchdown that tied the game at 17. In what seemed like a last hoorah, the high-flying ball of energy broke out the dance one final time.

The Dolphins are $16 million over the salary cap and the avenues to create cap space are well-documented. However, the team has other needs and Gesicki is looking to cash in on a long-term contract — sometimes it is just not meant to be.

“He’s earned the right to be a free agent,” Grier said on Jan. 16, “but we’re happy for him and he did a nice job. I know his teammates are happy for him, as you saw when he scored the touchdown [against Buffalo].”