Sergio Castillo Could Kick for the New York Jets Against the Buffalo Bills
Brant Boyer is considered one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL. He might get a chance to prove it on Sunday.
The New York Jets could be without Sam Ficken this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills as their kicker suffered a groin injury midweek. If Ficken is unable to go, it will be Sergio Castillo who gets called up from the practice squad and will handle field goals as well as kickoffs.
Castillo was signed to the Jets last week, a personnel move that might prove to be timely.
“Well, I think it was something that we had talked about for quite a while. Thank God, if this works out that way, that we have him in here, because we would have been in deep trouble,” Boyer said in his virtual press conference on Thursday. “We’ve got guys that can do it, but certainly not the caliber that Sergio is, if in fact he becomes the guy. So, like I said, it was a very good decision to bring him in, and you got to give it to Joe and those guys for doing that.”
Ficken was 9-for-10 this season on field goals, his first miss of the season coming in the Jets Week 6 loss at the Miami Dolphins. He’s made all six point-after attempts this year and has been very solid on kickoffs.
In terms of NFL preparedness, Castillo is an unknown. He’s never kicked in an NFL game and his last experience in the league came in preseason in 2014. Since then, the has become a standout in the Canadian Football League and most recently in the XFL (where he made all five field goal attempts).
Despite him being a man of mystery around the NFL, Boyer is familiar with Castillo on and off the field.
“I’ve seen him quite a bit out at a camp, so there’s a good familiarity with him. He’s got leg talent,” Boyer said.
“I kind of like how he’s wired. He’s a great kid and he’s come in and learned all our stuff and been working hard and kicked really well multiple times for us. Like I said, I have confidence in both these guys, and we’ll see how it goes as we get through the week.”
