Mike Gesicki has been catching passes from a former Alabama quarterback for the past three NFL seasons, and that will continue in the 2023 campaign even though the tight end is changing teams this offseason as a free agent.

After playing his fifth NFL season on Miami’s franchise tag in 2022, Gesicki has agreed to leave the Dolphins for the New England Patriots, NFL Network and ESPN reported on Friday.

MORE NFL:

· JALEN HURTS GETTING NEW BACKUP IN PHILADELPHIA

· JARRETT STIDHAM EAGER TO WORK WITH ‘MASTERMIND’ IN DENVER

· FORMER ALABAMA ALL-AMERICAN LOSES STARTING SPOT IN FREE AGENCY

Tua Tagovailoa is the Dolphins’ quarterback; Mac Jones is the Patriots’ quarterback. They are former Crimson Tide teammates.

In Tagovailoa’s first two seasons with Miami, Gesicki caught 126 passes for 1,483 yards and eight touchdowns. But with the arrival of coach Mike McDaniel and wide receiver Tyreek Hill last year, Gesicki’s role in the offense decreased. He had 32 receptions for 362 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, when he played 350 fewer snaps than he had in 2021.

Miami has two tight ends on its offseason roster – Tanner Conner and Durham Smythe. In his fifth season with Miami, Smythe caught 15 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown while playing 79 more snaps than Gesicki. As a rookie in 2022, Conner played mainly special teams and did not have a reception.

RELATED: DID A TRADE JUST MAKE TUA TAGOVAILOA A SUPER BOWL QB?

Hunter Henry caught 41 passes for 509 yards and two touchdowns as New England’s top tight end in 2022, down from 50 receptions for 603 yards and nine touchdowns in Jones’ rookie season.

In 2022, former Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia called the plays for New England on a staff that did not have a designated offensive coordinator.

For 2023, the Patriots have Bill O’Brien as their offensive coordinator after hiring him from that position on Alabama’s coaching staff. O’Brien was the head coach at Penn State when Gesicki was recruited to play for the Nittany Lions, but he left to become head coach of the Houston Texans before the tight end’s freshman season.

RELATED: QUARTERBACK MAC JONES GETS NEW TARGET IN NEW ENGLAND

On Monday, New England traded its No. 2 tight end, Jonnu Smith, to the Atlanta Falcons. Smith had 27 receptions for 245 yards while playing almost half the offensive snaps in 2022.

Gesicki is joining the Patriots on a one-year contract that could be worth up to $9 million.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.