diff --git a/ethers-middleware/src/gas_escalator/mod.rs b/ethers-middleware/src/gas_escalator/mod.rs
index 9ca6d3531..948e3928c 100644
--- a/ethers-middleware/src/gas_escalator/mod.rs
+++ b/ethers-middleware/src/gas_escalator/mod.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ use ethers_providers::{interval, FromErr, Middleware, PendingTransaction, Stream
 #[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
 use tokio::spawn;
 
+const RANDOM_TX_DROP_TRESHOLD: u64 = 3;
+
 pub type ToEscalate = Arc<Mutex<Vec<MonitoredTransaction>>>;
 
 #[cfg(target_arch = "wasm32")]
@@ -57,6 +59,8 @@ pub(crate) struct GasEscalatorMiddlewareInternal<M> {
     /// The transactions which are currently being monitored for escalation
     #[allow(clippy::type_complexity)]
     pub txs: ToEscalate,
+    // need an arc-mutex for interior mutability in `send_transaction`
+    random_tx_drop_counter: Arc<Mutex<u64>>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -204,6 +208,15 @@ where
         block: Option<BlockId>,
     ) -> Result<PendingTransaction<'_, M::Provider>, GasEscalatorError<M>> {
         let tx = tx.into();
+        let random_tx_drop_counter = {
+            let mut lock = self.random_tx_drop_counter.lock().await;
+            *lock += 1;
+            *lock
+        };
+        if random_tx_drop_counter % RANDOM_TX_DROP_TRESHOLD == 0 {
+            tracing::warn!(tx = ?tx, "Dropping random transaction");
+            return Ok(PendingTransaction::new(TxHash::random(), self.inner.provider()));
+        }
 
         match self.inner.send_transaction(tx.clone(), block).await {
             Ok(pending_tx) => {
@@ -250,8 +263,11 @@ where
 
         let txs: ToEscalate = Default::default();
 
-        let this =
-            Arc::new(GasEscalatorMiddlewareInternal { inner: inner.clone(), txs: txs.clone() });
+        let this = Arc::new(GasEscalatorMiddlewareInternal {
+            inner: inner.clone(),
+            txs: txs.clone(),
+            random_tx_drop_counter: Arc::new(Mutex::new(0)),
+        });
 
         let esc = EscalationTask { inner, escalator, frequency, txs };
 
diff --git a/ethers-middleware/src/nonce_manager.rs b/ethers-middleware/src/nonce_manager.rs
index aed41490f..f844f8e37 100644
--- a/ethers-middleware/src/nonce_manager.rs
+++ b/ethers-middleware/src/nonce_manager.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use thiserror::Error;
 use tracing::instrument;
 
-const DEFAULT_TX_COUNT_FOR_RESYNC: u64 = 10;
+const DEFAULT_TX_COUNT_FOR_RESYNC: u64 = 7;
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
 /// Middleware used for calculating nonces locally, useful for signing multiple