#Improving Denzel Mims set for Jets return: ‘Man, he’s getting this’

All Denzel Mims could do was watch last week as his Jets teammates got blown out in Seattle.

Mims had to return home to Texas to deal with a family emergency. That caused him to miss COVID-19 testing that week, which kept him out of the game. Mims returned to New Jersey two days before the Seahawks game, but players must have five consecutive negative tests to play, so there was not enough time for him to be cleared.

“It was pretty tough, just knowing that I’m healthy to play and I wasn’t able to play with the team and watching them play a very good team,” Mims said. “It was tough seeing that. I wish I was there.”

Mims is back now and will play Sunday at the Rams. The rookie wide receiver from Baylor is one of the few reasons to watch the Jets over the final three games of the season. He has been improving since recovering from hamstring injuries that kept him out of the first six games.

“I’m no [rocket scientist] by any means, but right now I like how [Mims] is ascending, I like where he’s going,” coach Adam Gase said. “Each week he’s getting better. I see him do something, whether it’s at practice or a game, where I’m like, ‘Man, he’s getting this,’ and you get excited and you love being around him, you love coaching him.”

Mims has 19 catches for 324 yards in six games. He has yet to score a touchdown but did catch a two-point conversion pass against the Raiders. Mims was asked this week what he will focus on improving this offseason.

“The main focus for me is I want to be able to be labeled as a good route runner,” Mims said. “That’s what, in the offseason, I’m going to work on a lot. I’m going to try to be good in that area and be good at everything else. I want to be that go-to guy. I’m going to try to do everything I can so I can impress the coaches and my teammates so they can trust in me.”

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The Jets will have Sam Ficken back at kicker Sunday after Sergio Castillo was cut this week. Castillo missed three field goals against the Seahawks on Sunday and was cut two days later. Ficken came off injured reserve after dealing with a groin injury.

“I just didn’t think he was keeping his head down enough,” special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said of Castillo’s issues. “I think his follow-through was a little short. And the thing with all players, at any position, if you have one bad play, you got to put it behind you and go to the next. It doesn’t matter if you’re a corner, you’re a linebacker, you’re a lineman, it doesn’t matter, especially a kicker, where it’s a lot mentally. You can’t let one bad play turn into two, two turn into three, three turn into four. And then, next thing you know, it’s terrible.”

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CB Bless Austin was fined $4,210 for unsportsmanlike conduct in last week’s loss to the Seahawks. …K Sam Ficken was activated from IR and will kick Sunday. … DL Tanzel Smart, LB Sharif Finch and LB Noah Dawkins were elevated from the practice squad.