Patriots Reveal Gesicki Injury: Status for Season-Opener?

The New England Patriots are counting on tight end Mike Geciski to be a focal point of their offense. Will an injury keep him sidelined into the regular season?

FOXBORO — The New England Patriots will be without one of their most productive pass-catchers for the remainder of the preseason. 

Tight end Mike Gesicki, per a Tuesday morning NFL Network report, “suffered a mild, dislocated shoulder” during a one-on-one tackling drill with linebacker Jahlani Tavai during Monday’s training camp practice. The 27-year-old landed awkwardly on his right arm after Tavai attempted to tackle him. He immediately left the session with the assistance of the team's trainers

The Pats are hopeful that Gesicki will be back in time for their regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 10.

After spending his first five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Gesicki signed a one-year, $4.5 million ($3.5 million guaranteed) contract with the Pats this offseason, which many have likened to a “prove-it” deal. Gesicki is a gifted pass catcher, possessing both the size and speed to be effective as a receiver out the slot, or even out wide — tasks which should be facilitated by playing within offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s schemes.

Despite a somewhat slow start to training camp, Gesicki has performed well over the past few practices. He has spent time aligning with the first-team offense — leading to a handful of impressive connections with quarterback Mac Jones. Like many of the other presumed Pats starters, the Penn State product did not play in the club’s 20-9 loss to the Houston Texans in their preseason opener.

Logistically, Gesicki is a textbook fit in O'Brien's offense, which typically creates space and mismatches for bigger pass-catchers. Both Gesicki at 6-6, 247 and fellow tight end Hunter Henry at 6-5, 250, certainly meet the criteria. In fact, Gesicki’s ability to power his way into contested-catch situations will be particularly useful in the red zone. The Pats new tight end finished second among all tight ends in contested catches in both 2020 and 2021, earning 61 in both seasons combined.

While his prowess as an offensive target for Jones is evident, Gesicki falls outside the 'Patriot prototype' in his blocking abilities. In 2022, he served as either a run blocker or pass protector on just 20.6 percent of his offensive snaps for the Dolphins. Still, his pass-catching productivity will be sorely missed by the team throughout his absence. 

With Gesicki sidelined for at least the next few weeks, the Patriots are likely to test the mettle of their reserves. With O’Brien poised to incorporate a significant amount of 12-personnel packages this season, New England may be forced to carry three tight ends on their opening day roster. Leading the way to earn the coveted third tight end spot is veteran Matt Sokol. Despite spending much of 2022 on the practice squad, Sokol is using his system knowledge to his advantage to enhance his skill set. In addition to blocking in select packages, Sokol has also made a notable amount of impressive plays in the passing game during training camp practices. 

Scout-teamer Scotty Washington, who originally signed with the Patriots practice squad in September 2022, may have the highest ceiling among his peers. The 6-5, 247-pounder is an athletic pass catcher, who has the speed to align at wideout, as well. Though he is not known for his blocking abilities, he may catch the eye of the Pats coaching staff with his agility and strong work ethic.

Having played his college football under Tim Murphy at Harvard, Firkser became quite adept in 12-personnel as well as in several blocking schemes. Doubling ads the Crimson’s tight ends coach, Murphy saw pro-level Firkser’s ability to excel in a program which produced such pro-level talent as Kyle Juszczyk and Cameron Brate. His ability to play both the H-Back and fullback roles, in addition to that of a traditional tight end, may earn him additional looks in the coming days. 

The Patriots will travel to Wisconsin on Tuesday for joint practices with the Packers on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17. Their preseason game against Green Bay will take place at Lambeau Field on Aug. 19, 8 p.m. ET.

---

Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here