The Bengals have agreed to a three-year deal with TE Mike Gesicki. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that it'll pay $25.5 million, with $12 million of that coming in the first season. The pay marks a steep increase from the one-year, $2.5 million contract he played on in 2024.
QB Joe Burrow has been praising Gesicki's skills since last offseason -- shortly after he signed -- and publicly stated that he hoped to have the "TE" back.
The money says a lot here.
Cincinnati has spent several years cycling through cheap TEs, going from the final season of C.J. Uzomah's rookie deal in 2021 to Hayden Hurst in 2022, Irv Smith Jr. (who failed to deliver) in 2023, and then Gesicki last season.
Gesicki's the first in that group to not reach the open market afterward.
Gesicki spent much of 2024 tallying significantly more production when WR Tee Higgins was out. But he racked up 18 receptions and 154 yards on 22 targets over the season's final two games -- with everybody healthy.
The new contract points to Gesicki operating as the No. 3 WR over the next few years. And the fact that nearly half the money will be paid out in Year 1 should increase Gesicki's chances of completing the contract.
He finished just 17th among TEs in PPR points per game last season and hasn't been a big TD threat for most of his career. But Gesicki makes sense just about anywhere in TE2 territory.
Gesicki turns 30 this October. That puts him in a range at which TEs historically see significant drops in production.
According to our aging research, non-elite TEs should expect to score at just 80% of their fantasy peak or lower from age 30 on.
To be fair, the drop-off comes a little slower at WR, and that's really more what Gesicki is.
That said, this might be a good time to see if you can sell high on Gesicki in dynasty. At best, he's the No. 3 option in a Cincinnati passing game -- behind a pair of high-volume WRs.
WR Andrei Iosivas doesn't look draftable in most fantasy formats for 2025, now that the Bengals have retained Higgins and Gesicki.
Treat him as an in-season waiver option if someone gets hurt.
Gesicki sits just 24th among TEs in best ball ADP as of this writing. That says the market has been assuming he would leave in free agency.
Now that we know Gesicki will stay in Cincinnati, I'm betting he'll climb. Just beware chasing him too far up the board.
Remember that he finished just 17th in PPR points per game -- 19th in half-PPR.
We assumed Gesicki would hit the open market when setting him at just TE33 in our initial fantasy football rankings. He'll obviously climb now but likely remain just a lower-level TE2.
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