LaBatte takes next step in possible return to roster

“Blue” might be on tap for Sunday’s CFL East Division final between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Toronto Argonauts.

An injured left leg forced Brendon LaBatte, nicknamed “Blue,” to miss Saskatchewan’s 31-20 win over the host Ottawa Redblacks in Sunday’s East Division semifinal.

He was hurt in the Riders’ 2813 regular-season loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on Nov. 4.

The time off benefited LaBatte, who was on the practice field for Wednesday’s walk-through at Carleton University. However, his status for Sunday’s game is uncertain.

“We’ll see how (Thursday) goes,’’ said LaBatte, an all-star guard and the Riders’ nominee for the CFL’s most-outstanding-lineman award.

“(Wednesday) was the most I’ve been able to do since this happened. We’ll see how I react and how I feel in the morning. (Playing on Sunday) is my goal and what I’m trying to do. If I can’t go out there and be productive and be healthy, there is no sense in me being out there if I can’t get through a whole game.’’

It didn’t look like LaBatte would play again this season after being carted off the field at Mosaic Stadium.

“That’s part of the game and there isn’t anything you can do about that,’’ he said about the injury. “If you want to go out there and put your body on the line, it’s going to get dinged up and that’s more or less what happened.

“When it happened, I wasn’t sure to the extent or what exactly what it was. A few days after the injury, it started to settle down and make some progress.’’

If LaBatte isn’t available, Derek Dennis will start for the second consecutive playoff game at left guard.

The weekend was pregnant with

possibilities for Riders safety Marc-Olivier Brouillette.

Brouillette was looking forward to dinner out with his wife, Brittany Knapp, on Saturday and then playing in Sunday’s game against the Redblacks. Those plans changed when Knapp, who was due Nov. 21, went into labour during their Ottawa dinner date.

After rushing to hospital, Brouillette and Knapp welcomed Calvin Beau Brouillette to the family at 3 a.m. on Sunday. There were some complications and Brouillette decided to remain with his wife and son rather than play in the game.

“I’m happy that the guys got the win and I get to go out there again with them this weekend,’’ said Brouillette, adding that his wife and son are doing fine.

Brouillette said that he had the total support of the team when it came to remaining with his son and wife.

“There was no attempt to talk me out of it,’’ he said. “Family comes first every single time and they were on board with that.’’

When it comes to births, football players often try to plan for them to occur during the offseason to avoid what took place on Sunday.

That wasn’t the case for Calvin. “It was poor timing on his part and I’ll make sure to remind him of that when he’s old enough to understand,’’ Brouillette said with a laugh.

The Riders added receiver Mitchell Picton, a fifth-round pick (37th overall) out of the University of Regina Rams in the 2017 CFL draft, to the practice roster Wednesday.

Picton, 22, attended the Riders’ training camp before returning to the U of R for the 2017 Canada West season, in which he caught 53 passes for 761 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games.

“It’s a good opportunity for him to grow as a football player,” Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones said.

“We drafted him for a reason — to be part of our organization.”