Getty Mike Gesicki #88 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Hard Rock Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
One of the top conversations surrounding the Chicago Bears this offseason has been the lack of offensive weapons surrounding second-year quarterback Justin Fields.
Other than wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet — the latter of whom has shown promise but remains unproven heading into the 2022 season — Chicago doesn’t have much else on the roster in terms of pass catchers.
Could Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki be an option?
Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus reported on August 24 that the Dolphins were willing to discuss trading their top tight end, who has become one of the best players at his position over his four seasons in the NFL.
“The Dolphins, of course, would not cut Gesicki, who’s playing on a fully guaranteed franchise tag this season, but a trade isn’t out of the question,” Kyed wrote. “In fact, the Dolphins have ‘brought up’ Gesicki’s name to other teams, a league source told PFF. That doesn’t mean anything will transpire, but Miami has been willing to engage in conversations.”
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Bears Insider: Bears Should Sniff Around This
A second-round pick out of Penn State for Miami in 2018, Gesicki has played in 64 games and started 30 since getting drafted.
Over the last two years, especially, the Dolphins tight end has made his mark. In 2020, he caught 53 passes for 703 yards and six touchdowns, which remains a career high. He followed that up with career highs in receptions (73) and yards (780) last season, while also finding the end zone twice (stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference).
One top insider covering the team, Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, made it clear he thinks the Bears should be in the market for Gesicki.
Considering several members of Chicago’s receiving corps, including wide receivers N’Keal Harry, Byron Pringle and Tajae Sharpe, haven’t been practicing, with Harry out until at least October and Pringle out indefinitely adding another proven pass catcher could only help Fields and this offense.
Those quick to point that Kmet is the team’s go-to guy at TE should take a long look at how Gesicki has lined up recently, because he generally serves more as a wideout. He wouldn’t overtake Kmet, but, rather, give the team a new threat while also giving Chicago what would easily be considered one of the best TE duos in the league.
Check out a few of Gesicki’s more Velcro-handed moments, like this snag:
MIKE GESICKI — Catch of the day😤
And this one:
Heck of 1-handed catch by #Dolphins Mike Gesicki, 18-yards
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Bears Should Absolutely Look Into Adding Gesicki
The playmaking tight end is set to make $10.931 million in fully guaranteed money this year after getting slapped with the franchise tag, and the Bears currently have the eight-highest salary cap in the league ($15,953,425, per Over the Cap), so money shouldn’t be an issue. The Bears will also have close to $100 million in cap room next year, so if Gesicki were to ball out, they could afford to ink him to a long-term deal, as well.
Gesicki certainly has his issues as a blocker, which is the primary knock against him, but he has been a top weapon for Miami since his arrival, and his versatility is appealing.
He took 370 snaps from the slot in 2021 along with 173 snaps out wide, per PFF. The only tight end who lined up out wide more than Gesicki last year was Kyle Pitts of the Atlanta Falcons.
Gesicki has also been a beast in tight coverage, leading all tight ends over the last two seasons in catches (25), receiving yards (328) and receiving touchdowns (5) on tight-window targets, via NFL.com.
He’s technically a tight end, but he plays more like a wide out, and opposing defenders will have to account for his presence wherever he goes on the field. It’s unclear what kind of draft capital Miami might want in return for him in a trade, but at the very least, Bears general manager Ryan Poles should pick up the phone and find out.
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