National Football League

Jonathan Casillas: My goal is to be a starter

Published Apr. 23, 2015 9:20 a.m. ET

foxsports

Jonathan Casillas has bounced around to many teams before signing with the New York Giants as a free agent this offseason. Throughout his career, he has started at linebacker from time to time, but most of his work has come on special teams. In this area of the game, he has developed a reputation as one of the premier special teams aces in the league.

The Giants already have several linebackers in place from the 2014 season, in addition to their free agent acquisition of linebacker J.T. Thomas, but Casillas is not looking to just be a role player. He wants to transcend his career arc and become a starter.

"They got some really good linebackers over in New York. I know about (Jameel) McClain, and of course (Jon) Beason he's an All-Pro player. Much respect for the linebackers they have there," Casillas told Yueh Ho of the Jersey Journal. "I think they just brought me in to add depth. I'm going to try to be a starter, that's my goal every year so I'm going to try to help my team as much as possible. I have started some games in this league."

Despite the fact that he hasn't been able to stick in the NFL as a starter at linebacker, Casillas was not a free agent for long this offseason. The Giants were the very first team to reach out to him, and they contacted him on March 10th in the very early stages of the free agent process.

"It was when the Giants came knocking, they gave me an offer I couldn't really refuse. Talking to New England, I know they weren't going up to that level that New York would contractually-wise," Casillas said. "I did win a Super Bowl with a great organization. New England is a great organization, and my short tenure there, the few months I spent there, I learned so much about football but also about winning. They carry it year in and year out. And there's a reason why Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have played in six Super Bowls together."

Casillas believes that the Giants' new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had a lot to do with the team's immediate interest in him. If Casillas' logic for why the Giants jumped out to sign him so fast is correct, his goal to become more than just a special teams player with the Giants has a real shot to become a reality.

"I played for him and he can vouch for me as a player and as a witness of my character. That's very important when you bring in somebody as a free agent. When you bringing in these rookies. They're going off what Spags told them, and I said we've always had a good relationship and that's pretty much how it's worked," Casillas said. "I spoke to him when he was coaching for the Ravens, playing for other teams. I always expressed my gratitude and my appreciation for him as a coach. He does the same for me."

Even if Casillas doesn't crack the starting lineup on defense, there is a silver lining waiting for him in his decision to sign with the Giants.

"It feels like a blessing. Like it's a blessing from above. Having a chance to play in front of my home crowd, my daughter's three and a half, she's at a point where she can recognize who I am through my number and through my facemask and stuff like that," Casillas said. "If I wrote a book I wouldn't be able to put this in there, it's such an amazing story."

His journey began Monday at the Giants' offseason voluntary workout program.

(h/t True Jersey)