Gesicki coming on strong at Patriots Training Camp

Jun 08, 2023

Patriots.com Writer

Mike Gesicki was one of the Patriots' key offseason acquisitions this offseason and in recent days at training camp, the veteran tight end is showing an increasing propensity for impressive catches, a welcome addition to the team's burgeoning attack.

On Sunday during practice in shells, Gesicki made a dynamic one-handed catch during a 7-on-7 period, reaching out over Jabrill Peppers to secure the ball. Peppers acknowledged after the session that sometimes you just have to tip your cap after an outstanding play like that, with Gesicki confirming on Monday that he had in fact gotten both feet in bounds.

"It was good coverage by Pep, it was a great ball by Mac," said Gesicki, "Just gotta go out and make plays."

Making plays is what Gesicki has been doing over the last few practices. He had an active spring, tantalizing fans with the potential of another one-two punch at tight end, pairing with Hunter Henry, who has been one of the best players on offense through 11 camp practices. Even veteran Matt Sokol has made an impression during the summer, as the tight end room suddenly looks even deeper and more dangerous than originally thought.

Though Gesicki had a quiet start to camp, his performance in recent days shows the growing confidence that the quarterbacks have that the tall playmaker can go up and make plays in a different stratosphere than those covering him.

"[Gesicki] would make some plays one-on-one, and down the field, and all that stuff," said Mac Jones earlier in the spring of watching his new teammate while he was with the Dolphins. "You can definitely see that translate to here... It might be different guys at times, but Mike definitely has playmaking ability. He's a smart football player, and I'm just excited to work with him."

With 11 practices down, those plays are starting to come to fruition as the offense gets on track.

"It's just the operation, communication, getting in and out of the huddle," said Gesicki on Monday of the learning curve in a new offense. "Before we win, we must keep from losing. This is an opportunity in the preseason to iron out some mistakes so this way once September rolls around it's go time, all of our pre-snap operations and communications, all that stuff is ready to go."

On Monday, the Patriots faced their first practice of the summer without ideal sunny conditions. As a consistent rain fell throughout the early afternoon, Gesicki carried the momentum from Sunday into an early 7-on-7 period, picking up a catch on a crossing route that was well executed. On a day where the offense struggled at times to deal with the wet weather, Gesicki showed some reliability in inclement conditions.

"[Mac] hit me on a crossing route and obviously it's raining out, put really good touch on, not trying to fire it in there in these conditions and I went up to him afterwards and said good touch on that because in these conditions it's harder to catch the ball obviously. So he has that awareness which is just another positive that his game. The chemistry is good on the field, in the building, outside the building. Everything's good, excited to be here. I'm excited to keep progressing in that aspect as well."

The wet weather also forced Gesicki to alter his post-game routing of catching balls from the JUGS machine, instead choosing to rely on an assistant coach to help him get his extra work in.

"Obviously there's always going to be a learning curve and stuff to get better at, but I feel right at home, I feel comfortable, I feel confident," said Gesicki. "I feel like I'm playing fast and we'll just continue to get better."

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