Dolphins place franchise tag on TE Mike Gesicki

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Mike Gesicki is getting a big raise from the Miami Dolphins. What remains unclear is if he’ll be getting a longer deal.

The Dolphins on Tuesday placed the franchise tag for the coming season on Gesicki, ensuring that the tight end will be back for 2022 and won’t be hitting the free agent market.

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The NFL set the tag number for tight ends at $10.931 million for the season. Gesicki had made a total of $6.6 million in his first four seasons with the Dolphins, and it remains possible that he and the team could still work out a longer-term extension between now and mid-July.

By committing the nearly $11 million to Gesicki, the Dolphins' available cap space right now is somewhere around $52 million. That remains fluid and could rise depending on other personnel moves that may be coming. Free agency officially begins Wednesday, March 16.

FILE - Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki (88) walks on the field ahead of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Miami Dolphins placed the franchise tag on tight end Mike Gesicki on Tuesday, March 8, which will keep him under contract for the 2022 season. (AP Photo/Willfredo Lee, File)

Gesicki had 73 catches last season, fourth-most in the NFL among tight ends and second-most on the team behind Jaylen Waddle’s 106. He has been extremely dependable, playing in 64 of a possible 65 games since getting taken by Miami in the second round of the 2018 draft. And his catch totals have gone up each season: His rookie total of 22 was followed by 51, then 53 and now 73.

"Mike knows how I feel about him,"