The Los Angeles Rams were dealt quite the blow when Pro Bowl kicker Greg Zuerlein was knocked out for the remainder of the season with a back injury.
But for Sam Ficken, it ended up yielding quite the stroke of good fortune.
Ficken was signed by the Rams to replace Zuerlein on Friday. After kicking at Penn State in college, he has yet to make an NFL roster beyond preseason.
In fact, when he got the call from Los Angeles, he was working as a brokerage dealer in Connecticut.
But it sounds like the 25-year-old had no issue getting some last minute time off for the holidays, according to ESPN.
“His boss told him he hoped he never saw him again,” wrote ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Ficken played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 preseason and the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 preseason. He’ll get his first opportunity in a regular season scenario in Week 16 for a team that could clinch a postseason berth and the division with a win.
Suddenly playing in your first career NFL game doesn’t sound like too bad of a way to spend the holidays.
