Saskatchewan Roughriders’ decision to release Canadian kicker Brett Lauther ‘very difficult’

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Saskatchewan Roughriders’ general manager Jeremy O’Day did not take the decision to releaser veteran Canadian kicker Brett Lauther lightly.

“Very difficult. He’s been a very good player for us for a number of years, aside from the fact that he’s a good football player, he’s excellent in the community and excellent in the locker room,” O’Day said.

“Tough, difficult decisions that you have to make. Not decisions we make a snap judgment on. I felt like we gave Brett opportunities and stuck by him for a long time. Ultimately, at the end of the year, you have to evaluate and see what you feel as an organization.”

The 35-year-old was let go by the team prior to an offseason roster bonus on Sunday, February 1. Lauther left the Riders ranked third in franchise history with 1,110 points behind Dave Ridgway and Paul McCallum. He went 10-for-10 on game-winning field goal attempts in Green and White, tied for the second-most with McCallum.

Lauther made 295-of-360 field goal tries in Riderville, an 81.9 percent accuracy rate — the best in Saskatchewan’s record books for anyone with 100-plus field goal attempts. His 59-yard three-pointer against Hamilton in Week 11 last season sits as the third-longest boot in Roughriders history.

The Truro, N.S. native’s 2025 season was inconsistent. He made 39-of-54 field goal attempts, a 72.2 percent conversion rate — the lowest in his eight seasons with the Riders. His convert rate was the worst in the league at 91.2 percent.

“Brett’s a pro — class act. He made a lot of big kicks for us. When a player has a down year, people tend to forget about what he did for us in the past. Through his challenges or struggles, when he missed some (kicks), we remembered that and gave him the opportunity to kick out of it. Unfortunately, we decided to go a different route and ended up releasing him,” O’Day said.

The Roughriders have two American kickers currently under contract: Michael Hughes re-signed in January and Jonathan Kim signed in February. Hughes could be the favourite to win the starting job after finishing last season with Saskatchewan. The 23-year-old played in Week 21 against the B.C. Lions and made both field goal attempts, including one from 42 yards. He also went two-for-two on coverts along with a booming 90-yard kickoff rouge.

“It’ll be an open competition. Hughes has been here before, got to kick a little bit in our game. We added another talented American kicker as well,” O’Day said.

“We’ll continue to look at that area, but with the two we have we feel very comfortable that they’re pretty darn good kickers.”

The Saskatchewan Roughriders finished first in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 12-6 record, finishing first in the West Division for the first time since 2019. The team went on to defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg, marking the team’s first championship in 12 years. Trevor Harris went 11-5 as a starter, throwing for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

The Roughriders ranked second in net offence, second in net defence, and tied for third with a turnover differential of plus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was A.J. Ouellette with 1,222 yards, leading receiver was KeeSean Johnson with 1,159 yards, and leading tackler was A.J. Allen with 91 tackles. Saskatchewan finished second in attendance with average crowds of 28,427, which was a 2.7 percent increase from the previous year.