Photo: Michael Scraper/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have officially ruled out kicker Brett Lauther for this week’s game against the Ottawa Redblacks.

Officially, the 34-year-old was a non-participant in practice this week due to a back injury. When asked about Lauther’s status on Wednesday, head coach Corey Mace was coy about whether he would play or if Campbell Fair would be promoted from the practice roster.

“You know how it is with a lot of our guys — just making sure that we’re feeling OK to be able to get out there and get our jobs done whether that’s Brett or it’s anybody else. We’ll see, but certainly having Campbell here and his experience with the ops over here, if he gets his opportunity, then he does — but if it’s Brett, it’s Brett,” said Mace. “Ultimately, we’re going to look to make the decision what’s best for the roster.”

Lauther has made only 68.9 percent of his field goal attempts this season, which is 10 percent worse than any other kicker in the league. His 90.9 percent success rate on one-point convert attempts is also the lowest in the CFL.

The native of Truro, N.S. entered this season with a career field goal percentage of 82.9, which is close to this year’s league-wide average of 84.9.

Fair, who joined Saskatchewan’s practice roster earlier this season, was originally a sixth-round pick of the Calgary Stampeders in the 2023 CFL Draft. The native of Oakville, Ont. had previous practice roster stints with Saskatchewan and Edmonton but has yet to dress for a regular-season CFL game. With Lauther out this week, he will presumably get the nod against the Redblacks.

The 25-year-old has ties to Ottawa as he was named a second-team OUA all-star while playing collegiately with the Gee-Gees. Fair made 48-of-68 career field goal attempts (70.6 percent) and punted 98 times for a 37.7-yard average at the University of Ottawa.

The Roughriders have also ruled out short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens (knee), Canadian offensive lineman Daniel Johnson (foot), defensive lineman Shane Ray (shoulder), and Canadian defensive backs Tevaughn Campbell (head), Jaxon Ford (knee), and Nelson Lokombo (ankle).

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-4) will visit the Ottawa Redblacks (4-10) at TD Place Stadium on Friday, October 3 with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT. The Riders are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Edmonton Elks, while the Redblacks were on a bye.

The weather forecast in Ottawa calls for a high of 21 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 620 CKRM in Regina and TSN 1200 in Ottawa.