A tight (end) bond between Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe — and a rookie learning from them who could see more playing time

There are many petitions out for Miami Dolphins’ top tight end and impending free agent Mike Gesicki to get a rich new contract from the team.

But this week, Gesicki took it upon himself to make a pitch for fellow tight end Durham Smythe, also an upcoming free agent, to get his new contract.

In a Monday web conference with reporters, following Sunday’s win at the New York Jets, Gesicki used a question about what he was told by officials regarding his two second-quarter offensive pass-interference penalties to flip the subject to Smythe and his new career high in receiving yards. Gesicki was wearing a Dolphins No. 81 Smythe jersey to the interview session.

“When I was driving in this morning, I thought of two things,” Gesicki began. “I knew that I was going to get asked the OPI call. I initially thought to myself, ‘What can I say without getting in trouble?’ I’ll probably keep that to a small margin right there.

“The other thing I thought to myself was, ‘Wow, Durham went over his career yardage [Sunday]. He has a new career high, so I’m going to wear his jersey in my press conference today and start the initiative to get him paid here by the Miami Dolphins.’ ”

Indeed, Smythe’s 37 yards on four catches on Sunday put him at 221 receiving yards, surpassing his previous high of 208 established in 2020. And he still has six games to go.

“He’s a good player, has a lot of success, does a lot of things,” Gesicki said. “I’m happy for him, so I figured I’d come in here wearing his jersey and give him a little boost. I know he wouldn’t do it for me, but I’ll do it for him.”

Gesicki can joke like that with Smythe. After coming to the Dolphins in the same rookie class in 2018, they have built a bond as two of the better friends on the roster. They’ve gotten to know each other so well, Gesicki nailed it with his prediction Smythe wouldn’t return the favor. Smythe didn’t have his Gesicki jersey when he spoke to reporters in person on Wednesday, something he immediately addressed.

“To start off, I want to say I left my Mike Gesicki shirt in Texas,” Smythe said. “I have one. Post-bye week when I’m back up here, you guys will see that. It will be perfect timing, right in time for the Pro Bowl push, so I’ll have that on, but that’s a little delayed right now. The relationship isn’t one-sided, so you can’t think of it like that.”

Smythe has been more known as a blocking tight end and Gesicki the greater receiving threat in their four years together, but Smythe has been able to balance out his game nicely while Gesicki puts up the big numbers. He has 579 receiving yards as he eyes the 703 mark he established for himself last season.

Passing off the publicity to Smythe falls in line with the type of teammate Gesicki is.

“A guy that gets a lot of attention around the building and then he passes it on to guys that maybe aren’t talked as much about — the offensive line, other tight ends like myself,” Smythe said. “That’s just kind of the guy he is. It comes back full circle and says a lot about him.”

The two are also bringing along rookie tight end Hunter Long, who could see an increased workload on Sunday with Adam Shaheen out against the Carolina Panthers with a knee injury.

“They’ve been fantastic,” Long said Friday. “They’ve answered every question I’ve come to them [with]. I’ve probably asked them too many questions. I’m sure they’ve gotten annoyed a time or two, but they’ve been fantastic through it and answered all of my questions. They’re great friends off the field and help me on the field, so it’s been awesome.”

One piece of advice that has resonated with Long is to stay ready. The third-round pick hasn’t seen much of the field in his first professional season, playing in just three games without a reception. He’s been inactive for eight games.

Part of it comes from being in a deep tight end unit with veterans playing above him — Gesicki, Smythe, Shaheen and Cethan Carter.

“I’ve got the best of both worlds in the variety of tight ends that we have,” Long said. “I haven’t gotten a lot of playing time, but I’ve been able to practice with those guys and see those guys and watch what they do and ask them all sorts of questions.”

With Shaheen’s injury opening up an opportunity for Long, he’s not changing his approach.

“I’ve tried to keep it even the whole year and attack each week the same, so this week was no different,” he said. “I did kind of the same in college. I redshirted my freshman year and didn’t play a whole lot my sophomore year, so I’ve kind of been through this before where you just have to be as prepared as possible for when that chance comes. And when it comes, make the most of it.”

Long, a Boston College grad from Exeter, New Hampshire, started in his NFL regular-season debut at the New England Patriots in the Sept. 12 opener. He played 18 offensive snaps in that game and also saw playing time at the Las Vegas Raiders and in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3nVumpx