CASTILLO OUT
Misses vs. Seahawks cost Jet kicker his job
The Jets released kicker Sergio Castillo on Tuesday after he missed three of his four fieldgoal attempts at Seattle last Sunday.
Castillo had been filling in for Sam Ficken, who’s on injured reserve with a strained groin but could be cleared to practice this week. The Jets also claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers from Jacksonville on Monday, signaling Castillo’s likely departure.
The 30-year-old Castillo was signed to the Jets’ practice squad on Oct. 14 and to the active roster two weeks later when Ficken initially injured his groin. Castillo went 6 for 7 on field goals — with the only miss a blocked kick — and made all four of his extra points in three games before Ficken returned.
But when Ficken was reinjured, Castillo stepped in again and struggled in the past three games. He missed four of six field-goal tries, including attempts from 37, 41 and 43 yards in the 40-3 loss to the Seahawks, and was 2 for 3 on extra points. In six games overall with the Jets, Castillo was 8 for 13 on field goals.
Castillo went six years between NFL chances and his journey was one of the few feel-good stories during the winless Jets’ dismal season. He was signed by Atlanta as an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M in 2014, but was cut during training camp. Castillo had stints in the CFL, XFL and Alliance of American Football and was cut eight times before he got the opportunity with the Jets.
The Jets have had issues with consistency at kicker since Nick Folk’s last season with the team in 2016. If McLaughlin plays Sunday against the Rams, he would be the sixth player in the past four seasons to kick in a regular-season game for the Jets. He would join Ficken, Castillo, Kaare Vedvik (2019), Jason Myers (2018) and Chandler Catanzaro (2017).
LAMAR TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS
Lamar Jackson’s only thought was to rescue his teammates. Like any other superhero.
Jackson dashed back from an emergency trip to the locker room, saved the game and maybe Baltimore’s season with a 47-42 victory over the Browns in a wild, back-and-forth Monday night game in which the teams combined to tie a 98-year-old NFL record.
Back on the field after being sidelined by what he said to be “cramps,” Jackson threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown and then set up Justin Tucker’s 55-yard field goal with two seconds left as the Ravens (8-5) stayed in the playoff picture.
Jackson, who missed a recent game with COVID-19, said he received fluids in the locker room and was getting stretched when he saw backup QB Trace McSorley get hurt.
PLAYOFFS ON NICK
Get ready for SpongeBob SquarePants running out of the tunnel, players being covered with digital slime after touchdowns and commentary from the cast of “All That” when Nickelodeon airs an NFL playoff game.
CBS Sports and Nickelodeon revealed their plans for the kid-focused channel’s broadcast of a wild-card game on Sunday, Jan. 10.