By Joel Gasson

Roughriders announce final round of cuts

Jun 23, 2013 | 8:25 AM

An anxious day for those vying to become Saskatchewan Roughriders is over.

The Riders made their final cuts on Saturday ahead of the league mandated deadline that night. In all over 20 players were let go, some of the more notable names include defensive back Eddie Russ, kicker Brody McKnight, and defensive linemen Mick Williams and Zach Evans.

Russ is out after re-signing with the Green and White in the off season. However, general manager Brendan Taman says Russ kind of got lost in the shuffle with the number of guys they brought into the secondary.

“We signed some guys in the secondary that really played well, you can't keep everybody.” said Taman. “So it was a veteran that had to go, those are never easy.”

The kicking game appears to be a little more settled now, as the Riders went with the player they knew better in Chris Milo, and chose to let go of McKnight instead. Ricky Schmitt is also sticking around after joining the team late last year. Taman expects he will get a shot at being the go-to guy as well.

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The moves along the defensive line were made possible because of the play of some new comers. Will Davis, and Antonio Coleman stood out through tout camp, that made Williams expendable, he also didn't really get healthy in camp.

“He couldn't get it going in camp, and he got beat out, simplest way I could put it,” said Taman. “We just had guys that played better.”

Evans meanwhile is off the final roster because of the play of University of Saskatchewan Huskie Levi Steinhauer.

“He snaps well, so he's another insurance policy there,” said Taman. “Actually as a d-lineman he's not bad, and obviously he'll play some (special) teams for us.”

Some of the other players let go include both import offensive linemen. Jose Valdez and Kyle Hill were also let go. Not usually that notable, but with the injury to right tackle Patrick Neufeld, Ben Heenan has been filling in, and will continue to do so.

“But we want to see if we can get a guy that will come in and push him,” said Taman. “Whether it's an American or a Canadian.”

There is still a chance for some of these players to stick around Saskatchewan, as some will end up on the team's practice roster. Taman did hint that Evans could be one of those guys, don't look for either Hill or Valdez to be on that list. The team expects to have that done by Monday.

The following have all been released:

Non-Import WR Alex Anthony

Non-Import OL Eric Armitage

Non-Import RB DeDe Dorsey

Non-Import DL Zach Evans

Import WR Rod Harper

Import OL Kyle Hill

Import DB Reshard Langford

Non-Import LS Jordan Matechuk

Non-Import K Brody McKnight

Non-Import RB Spencer Moore

Non-Import LB Brian Peters

Non-Import LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagne

Import DB Ramzee Robinson

Import DB Eddie Russ

Non-Import LB Thomas Spoletini

Import DL Richard Sumlin

Import DL Hilee Taylor

Import OL Jose Valdez

Non-Import OL Matt Vonk

Non-Import DL Ryan Wellman

Import DL Mick Williams

RETURN TO JUNIOR:

Non-Import RB Andre Lalonde

Non-Import LB Brett Pisio