Former CFLER living his NFL dream with winless Jets
Four games into a stint with the New York Jets, as kicker Sergio Castillo balances the realization of a lifelong dream against the nightmare of a winless season (0-11), he also takes time to show gratitude:
■ To his agent Gil Scott, who got Castillo looks in Pittsburgh and Cleveland before he made the Jets.
■ To veteran CFL kicker Justin Medlock, for lessons in professionalism.
■ To B.C. Lions teammate Fernando Richarte, for the joyful banter in Spanish all through the 2019 CFL season.
“I entered the CFL as a young boy and I left as a pro,” Castillo said Monday from New York.
The 30-year-old Mexican-american native of La Joya, Texas, chased the NFL dream for six years, spending his time mostly in the CFL with brief side trips to the XFL and the Alliance of American Football. He played four games with Winnipeg in 2015, moved through Ottawa and Hamilton, missed the entire 2018 season after suffering a torn ACL late in 2017, then blossomed into a West Division all-star with B.C., playing all 18 games in 2019.
He's a career 87 per cent fieldgoal kicker with a 57-yarder to his credit, and has a lifetime 44.4-yard punting average.
He went out of his way to thank Medlock for leading by example with Winnipeg during much of the 2016 season.
“For the nine weeks I was behind him I got to see what it is to be a pro athlete, how to conduct your practices, what to attack,” Castillo said.
“You don't just kick to kick. There are all these little things that you work on and I got to see how he conducted himself on and off the field and that was honestly a big lesson for me. As much as I wanted to play, I'm very grateful for the nine weeks I was behind him.”
When the CFL went dark on Aug. 17, Castillo had two options. He had signed a two-year deal with B.C. in April, at about $90,000 per year, and would have been able to access some federal funding. He and fiancée Adriana Cavazos-loya are expecting a baby in January, and the security of guaranteed income was a consideration.
Instead, they bet on him realizing his dream, and it paid off. He's playing for a pro-rated portion of a US$610,000 contract with the Jets. It would be even more rewarding if they were a winning team.