Blue Bombers address kicking woes, trade for CFL all-star Sergio Castillo

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers appear to have finally lost faith in placekicker Ali Mourtada after giving him a few chances to prove himself.

The football club announced Tuesday that it has brought in not one but two new kickers — one a familiar face to Bombers fans.

American-born kicker Sergio Castillo returns to Winnipeg, where he started his CFL career in 2015.

The Bombers acquired the 31-year-old through a trade with the B.C. Lions, in exchange for a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2022 CFL draft.

The exact details of those conditions were not revealed by the teams.

The Bombers also announced they have added Canadian kicker Gabriel Ferraro to the practice roster. The 26-year-old last played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.

He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in 2018 and spent training camp with them, making his only field goal attempt in a pre-season game before returning to the University of Guelph for his final year of eligibility.

Ferraro holds the U Sports record for field goals made in a season with 33 in 2017, and was tied for the most ever with a career 91-of-117. That record was bettered by Bombers punter Marc Liegghio, who reached 92 when he played with Western University.

Mourtada, filling in for the injured Tyler Crapigna, has only made eight of his 15 field goal attempts this season.

The embattled kicker went 0-for-3 in his Bomber debut on Sept. 18, then rebounded the following week with a 3-for-3 performance. But on Oct. 12, his struggles returned, and he went 1-for-4 on field goals while also missing a convert.

Nonetheless, head coach Mike O'Shea decided to stick with him, saying he liked the way Mourtada struck the ball — very consistent and "pretty well dead-straight every time." Mourtada just needed to get his angles right, the coach said.

In a Zoom call with reporters a few days after that Oct. 12 game, Mourtada vowed to improve and said he would put those words into action. And on Oct. 14, he went 4-for-5, including hitting from 43 yards out, on the way to helping Winnipeg beat the Edmonton Elks 26-16.

The win gave the Bombers, 9-1, their seventh consecutive victory and allowed them to become the first CFL team this year to book their ticket to the post-season.

There's no word on Mourtada's future now that Castillo and Ferraro are on the scene.

In his professional debut with the Bombers in October 2015, Castillo made all five of his field-goal attempts and finished the season going 10-of-13.

The Bombers signed Justin Medlock the following year and Castillo went on to play for the Ottawa Redblacks (2016), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2017) and the B.C. Lions (2019), appearing in 38 CFL games covering four seasons.

He holds a career field-goal percentage of 87 in the CFL, having made 80 of his 92 attempts.

Castillo opted out of his two-year CFL contract in August 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season. He pursued opportunities in the National Football League while the Lions maintained his CFL rights.

He played in seven games in 2020 with the New York Jets, connecting on eight of 13 field goals, including a 55-yarder, and was with the Tennessee Titans during training camp this year.