Third in all-time scoring for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Brett Lauther was released just eight months ago after last season’s Grey Cup Campaign. Now he returns to Regina in a trade deadline deal with the Ottawa Redblacks. However Lauther won’t test his leg in the Green and White just yet according to head coach Corey Mace. “I don’t think it would be fair to the football team, honestly, to just toss him out there without an extensive work of operation with a new snapper, a new holder,” Mace explained. Lauther’s 2025 season with the Riders was his worst with the team, making 39 of his 54 field goal attempts — just 72 percent. It was also his worst kicking performance since his rookie season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2013. This season, Lauther got a new start with the Ottawa Redblacks. While the team as a whole has set CFL records for their losing streak, Lauther has been terrific, hitting 32 of his 34 of his field goal attempts so far this season. Lauther agreed with Mace’s assessment that it was too early for him to start. Kicking is a skill where all the little details matter and Lauther was only able to attend Thursday’s walkthrough practice ahead of Friday’s matchup against Calgary. The 2018 All Star said he has to get acclimated to Saskatchewan’s wind. “I want to get back out there, get used to things and hopefully get rolling and if I get a shot I’ll be looking forward to it,” he said. Acclimation is the name of the game for special teams. It’s an often-overlooked part of the game of football but a special teams unit can be as vital to a squad as offence or defence. Timing between the kicker, holder, and longsnapper makes the difference between a successful field goal and a block going the other way. The Riders specialists are ready to welcome Lauther and get to work. Riders long snapper Mike Benson is in his first season with the Saskatchewan but has played in the CFL since 2012. Its his experience that will give the edge in developing a bond with any kicker or punter he works with. “I’ve been around long enough where we’ve had lots of new additions part-way through the season, mid-way through the season, towards the end of the season,” he said. “... It’s just another opportunity to make friends, and then you just gotta roll with it. So friendship first and then we’ll go from there.” Riders punter and holder for field goals, Oscar Chapman, has the opposite of experience in the CFL. The rookie from Adelaide, Australia was signed after Lauther was released, but his work as a holder is praised by Lauther as “the best in the CFL”. It’s a job that Chapman says is down to his connection with Benson. “Me and Mike have such a good connection we’re kinda dialed in so we can just figure it out pretty quickly,” explained. “It doesn’t really matter who is back there as long as Mike gives me a great ball, which he does, then I’ll just get the laces down for the kickers and they’ll just smoke it.” For Lauther, the challenge of having to bond with a different group at the end of the regular season is something he hadn’t considered, adding that he wasn’t given advanced notice of a potential trade out of Ottawa. The opportunity to come back to Saskatchewan, Lauther “wouldn’t trade it for anything”, now that he has a locker back in Mosaic stadium. Lauther credited the Riders’ coaching staff, management, and organization as a whole for making the transition seamless. With all the focus Lauther’s reunion, it will be rookie kicker Dawson Hodge who will put boot to leather against the Stamps. Hodge has yet to miss a field goal since taking over for Alex Hale as of the Banjo Bowl game against Winnipeg, though Hodge has yet to attempt a field goal over 35 yards.
