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The Saskatchewan Roughriders have decided on the players that they hope will lead them to the 101st Grey Cup. They made their final roster moves coming out of training camp on Saturday, releasing 23 players.

“To do two dozen guys, and Jeremy and I did most of them, and those are never fun, so that's tough, but it's part of the business,” said general manager Brendan Taman on cut down day.

Moose Jaw’s Levi Steinhauer wasn’t among the final cuts and will make the team as a rookie after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 CFL Draft. Steinhauer wasn’t expected to make the team, but had an impressive training camp and two preseasons game.

“He was pretty surprising to be honest with you. He just kept getting better as the camps went on,” said Taman on Saturday when going over the roster moves with the media. “He snaps well, so he's another insurance policy there, and actually as a defensive lineman, he's not bad either, and obviously he'll play some teams for us, so he was a nice surprise for us.”

Steinhauer's performance came at the expense of former Regina Thunder defensive lineman Zach Evans who was on the chopping block on Saturday. “(Zach) has played well over the last couple of years for us, but Levi Steinhauer has played pretty well,” said Taman. He expects Evans will accept a spot on the team's practice roster, so his time in Green & White isn't over quite yet.

Eddie Russ and Mick Williams are two of the more notable players released after being key pieces on the team last season.

Russ just found himself as the odd man out in the secondary after the additions of Dwight Anderson and Carlos Thomas during the offseason. “Eddie got caught up in a situation where we just signed some guys in the secondary that played well and can't keep everybody, so it was a veteran that had to go. Those are never easy,” said Taman.

Russ played two seasons with the Riders, he finished with 33 tackles and one interception last season.

Williams was another player that got caught up in a numbers game after the defensive line was loaded up over the offseason. An injury during training camp didn't help his cause either. “He just couldn't get going in camp and just got beat out,” stated Taman. “We just had guys that played better.”

Kicker Brody McKnight was hoping to unseat Chris Milo, but it appears the team will go with Milo and Ricky Schmitt. The kicking battle was one of the closest throughout training camp, coming down to the final preseason game. None of the kickers got many game chances, but experience won out in the final decision.

“When we're up in training camp for two weeks, it's an evaluation period. Through that time, Chris did a good time during camp, he missed the two field goals in Edmonton, but during camp he was pretty good and Brody struggled for the most part,” said Taman.

“Ideally, you would love another game or two to make a decision, but you can't, so you've just got to go with what you believe.”

Taman added that a final decision on the kicking job would be made over the next week, but both Milo and Schmitt are on the roster. He would like to see one person doing the place kicking, punting and kick-offs.

Some of the players released could end up back with the team on the practice roster. Those decisions will be made over the next few days. Teams can now have nine players on their practice roster with a maximum of five imports.

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