Free agent tight end Mike Gesicki is signing a one-year deal worth up to $3.25 million with the Cincinnati Bengals, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
The move further reinforces the Bengals' tight end position after the team re-signed Drew Sample to a three-year contract Monday.
Gesicki signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots with a base value of $4.5 million in March 2023 after having played on the franchise tag the year before for the Miami Dolphins.
Gesicki had totaled just 32 receptions in his final season with the Dolphins, so his hope in joining New England was to return to an offensive system that better suited his skill set.
But those hopes didn't come to fruition, as Gesicki finished the 2023 season with 29 receptions for 244 yards with two touchdowns. He was mostly used as a complement to No. 1 tight end Hunter Henry, playing 50% of the offensive snaps, with former coach Bill Belichick referring to him as more of a "fifth receiver" than a second tight end.
Gesicki, 28, acknowledged that he wasn't expecting the way the 2023 season unfolded as the Patriots finished 4-13 and his individual production was limited.
Gesicki enters his seventh NFL season in 2024 but said he feels "like I'm 22 and just got drafted."
A second-round pick by the Dolphins in 2018, he has 260 receptions for 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career.
ESPN's Mike Reiss contributed to this report.