Patriots add tight end Mike Gesicki on one-year deal

Mike Gesicki, who has played five seasons with the Dolphins, will be 28 in October.Doug Murray/Associated Press

The Patriots have agreed to terms with tight end Mike Gesicki, a league source confirmed. The deal is for one year and $9 million.

Gesicki immediately fills a need for the Patriots, who traded Jonnu Smith to Atlanta earlier this week. At 6 foot 6 inches, Gesicki brings a little bit more size.

“He’s a hard guy to cover,” coach Bill Belichick said last December. “Long. He’s a good, crafty route-runner. He’s slick, but he can get down the field. Very good hands, makes some acrobatic catches. He has enough quickness to separate.

“That’s another hard guy to cover on third down — well, on any down — but when you talk about those possession downs, he’s effective.”

Gesicki, who turns 28 in October, spent his first five seasons in Miami after getting drafted out of Penn State in the second round in 2018.

His best statistical season came in 2021, when he caught 73 passes for 780 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last season, with his role reduced significantly in Miami’s revamped offense, he finished with 32 catches for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Gesicki has missed only one game (Week 15 against the Patriots in 2020) over his five-year NFL career. He has appeared in 81 regular-season games, with 231 receptions for 2,617 yards.

Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien already has a level of familiarity with Gesicki and his family because O’Brien recruited him to Penn State in 2013. Gesicki never ended up playing for O’Brien, who left to become head coach of the Texans, but the two reconnected at the Senior Bowl in 2018.

“Mike was the one recruiting battle I won over [former Ohio State coach] Urban [Meyer],” O’Brien said at the time. “He’s a great kid.”

The Patriots may still want to draft a tight end to join Gesicki and Hunter Henry, because this year’s class is deep. Both Gesicki and Henry are set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2023 season.

Gesicki is the latest piece in New England’s retooled offense under O’Brien, joining wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, tackle Riley Reiff, and running back James Robinson.