The Dolphins put the franchise tag on tight end Mike Gesicki this offseason despite questions about whether he’d fit in new head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense. Through three games, it’s looking like the answer to those questions is “No.”
Gesicki played just 17 snaps in Sunday’s win over the Bills and caught just one pass for six yards. For the season, Gesicki has just six catches for 48 yards. He hasn’t been in the starting lineup for any of the Dolphins’ three games and has played less than half of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps.
That’s obviously not the kind of production a team hopes for when giving a tight end a $10.931 million guaranteed salary. Durham Smythe, whose salary this season is just $2 million, has started all three games at tight end this season and moved ahead of Gesicki on the Dolphins’ depth chart.
There was talk before the season that the Dolphins could be looking to trade Gesicki. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Dolphins explore that possibility again before the trade deadline, although there may not be a team interested in taking on that $10.931 million salary.