Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Mike Gesicki finally finds his NFL fit in Cincinnati's aerial attack

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 10:08 AM ET

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.

88 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which has No. 88 Mike Gesicki the first read of this play call.

Mike Gesicki

Age: 29
Year: 8th
Position: Tight end
College: Penn State
Previous Teams: Miami Dolphins (2018-22), New England Patriots (2023)
Jersey Number: 88

Gesicki enters his second season with the Bengals and eighth in the NFL after being drafted 42nd overall in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He's up to 325 career receptions for 3,526 yards and 22 touchdowns in 115 games played (44 starts) with one career playoff game to boot.

The Bengals signed Gesicki to a one-year, $2.5 million contract last offseason after his one year in New England didn't pan out. He put together a handful of quality outings early in the season before finding a true fit in the offense as a big slot option in-between wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Gesicki racked up 40 receptions for 412 yards and two touchdowns in the last nine games of the year, and finished the season with 65 receptions, 665 yards along with those two scores. Cincinnati extended Gesicki's contract for another three years days leading up to free agency this offseason.

Contract Details

Gesicki is in the first year of his three-year, $25.5 million contract he signed earlier this offseason. He earned a $6.5 million signing bonus and has a base salary of $5.4 million this season. He's also in the process of earning a $100,000 workout bonus. In total, Gesicki can make $12 million this year.

When adding on his signing bonus proration of $2,166,666 to his bas salary and workout bonus, Gesicki's salary cap hit for the 2025 season comes out to $7,666,666.

Roster Outlook

The Bengals paid Gesicki like a tight end, but they don't use him like one. Just 12.3% of his snaps last year featured him as an inline TE. He finds himself in the slot over 60% of the time he's on the field. That's not going to change now that he's fully locked in with the offense for the next few years.

No matter what position Gesicki is listed as or plays in reality, Cincinnati realized how to maximize his skillset as a rangy pass-catcher who demands attention between the numbers. He's become a critical component to freeing up Chase and Higgins on the outside, which is why even if he isn't always out there for the first play of the game, he's a starter in practicality.

Projected role: Pseudo starting big slot