Lauther looking forward to returning to Roughriders
REGINA - The rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations was the kick that Brett Lauther needed to re-sign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The veteran CFL placekicker dealt with some reluctance after becoming a free agent in February due to uncertainty about the 2021 season and a desire to test the NFL waters. That changed on March 12 when the Riders announced that he had signed a new contract for the 2021 season.
“It was a combination of the vaccinations and everything else,” Lauther explained from his off-season home in Minot, N.D. “It’s a big difference for me from the start of free agency to how comfortable I feel coming back now.”
Lauther initially wasn’t optimistic about the CFL playing in 2021. The cancellation of the 2020 season along with questions about the length and format of a possible 2021 season contributed to his apprehension.
Those concerns have been eased by the possibility of most adult Canadians being vaccinated by July. The NFL’S success in playing a full season in 2020 also contributed to Lauther returning to the Riders.
“The CFL is doing a great job working with the government and the players’ association is doing the same thing,” said Lauther, 30. “I’m really hopeful at this point that we actually get to a full season. If we don’t, it’s going to be something really close.”
Lauther spent two seasons with the Riders — posting an 85-per-cent success rate while connecting on 86 of 110 fieldgoal attempts — before opting out of his contract in August to pursue NFL opportunities. NFL offers didn’t materialize, but he generated interest from some unnamed CFL teams.
“I wanted to see what else was out there just to take a peek,” said Lauther, a West Division all-star in 2018. “There were a couple other options that made a lot of sense too. At the end of the day, I’m lucky and grateful to even have the opportunity to play football, let alone for the Roughriders and what we have with that team and in that locker room. I wanted to come back all along.”
Lauther has followed last week’s developments with the CFL and XFL owners agreeing to collaborate and grow the game of football. The joint announcement sparked speculation of a possible merger.
“Hopefully, it’s beneficial for both sides, whether it’s just talks or who knows what else can come out of it?” Lauther said of the collaboration. “It’s too early to speculate and it would be naive to start doing that. Obviously, I’m hoping that nothing ever changes with the Canadian game, the rules and players and everything going that way.”
Lauther is looking forward to a football season after a tough off-season due to COVID-19. The Riders’ placekicker and his partner, Jill Swenson, both tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 25. Lauther experienced only minor symptoms, although he did lose his sense of taste and smell.
“They have gradually come back to where I feel like it’s pretty close to where it was before,” he said. “It’s not 100 per cent, but it feels like it’s changing compared to what I was dealing with.”
It has been slightly more than a year since the COVID19 pandemic changed lives across the world. Lauther marvels at how different things are now compared to a year ago.
“I don’t think anyone can really imagine or predict when something like that hits,” he said. “If there’s anything ever close to it again, the world’s more prepared to go through with these protocols or shutdowns to eliminate something quicker. It was our first run at something like that and hopefully it never happens again.”