Gesicki Reunion in Jeopardy? ... and Other Former Dolphins News

The New England tight end sustained a shoulder injury in practice

Reunion games are always fun and the Miami Dolphins have one in Week 2 against the New England Patriots when they'll be facing former starting tight end Mike Gesicki.

Or will they?

Gesicki is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason because of a shoulder injury he sustained in practice Monday, which has been described as a mild shoulder separation.

The Patriots, per a report from NFL Network, are hopeful that Gesicki will be ready for New England's season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 10. The operative word here is "hopeful," meaning there's no guarantee and any kind of setback could put Gesicki in danger of missing the matchup against the Dolphins and his very good friend Durham Smythe.

BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR GESICKI

This is certainly not the kind of setback that Gesicki wants as he enters what he hopes will be a rebound season for him.

Gesicki signed a one-year, prove-it contract with the Patriots in the offseason after he became an afterthought on offense in his final season with the Dolphins, in good part because of his deficiencies as a blocker from the tight end position.

But the Patriots are looking to use Gesicki more like the Dolphins used him before the arrival of Mike McDaniel as head coach, as a receiving threat for the passing game where he would team with Hunter Henry to give New England a poor man's version of what they once had with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

The New England offense, which added running back Ezekiel Elliott on Monday, figures to center around the running game and short passing unlike the other three teams in the AFC East.

McMILLAN STICKING AROUND

One former Dolphins player on the New England roster who definitely won't be in the lineup for that Week 2 matchup at Gillette Stadium is linebacker Raekwon McMillan, who'll instead be spending the entire season on injured reserve because of a torn Achilles tendon he sustained in May.

But McMillan will get to try to come back with the Patriots because they signed him Monday to a one-year contract extension through the 2024 season.

McMillan played 16 games with one start for the Patriots last season, finishing with 35 tackles with one sack and one fumble recovery.

SHELL ON THE SHELF

Meanwhile, veteran offensive lineman Brandon Shell was absent from Buffalo Bills practice Tuesday, and he later was placed on the reserve/retired list.

Shell played a big role for the Dolphins last season after being signed in mid-September. He ended up playing 13 games with 11 starts.

He signed with the Bills as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and was looking as the role of swing tackle.

Shell, who turned 31 in February, started 72 of the 83 games he played after entering the as a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2016 NFL draft.

INJURY SETTLEMENTS

Wide receiver Freddie Swain officially became a former Dolphins player Tuesday when he was waived off IR with an injury settlement.

The former University of Florida standout had been waived/injured Monday morning.

Also receiving an injury settlement was former Dolphins tackle Greg Little, who signed with the Houston Texans in the offseason but also was waived/injured.

DAVENPORT NEWS AND THE TUNSIL CONNECTION

We have yet another development involving a former Dolphins player, and this one is appropriate with the team set to conduct joint practices with the Houston Texans and former Miami first-round pick Laremy Tunsil.

Tackle Julien Davenport, who was one of the two players acquired along with multiple high draft picks when they sent Tunsil to Houston in September 2019, is signing with the New York Giants.

Davenport did not play in the NFL in 2022 after being released by the Chicago Bears last August. He spent two seasons with Miami, starting all eight games he played in 2019 and one of 16 in 2020.

The return from Houston for Tunsil obviously was about the draft picks, which the Dolphins parlayed into a bigger return that one could have imagined.

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