HAMILTON — Ted Laurent, a key cog in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' defensive line, has undergone a procedure for appendicitis, the club confirmed Friday.
With Sunday's Grey Cup game against Winnipeg looming, Laurent missed practice for the second straight day with the cause initially listed as a non-COVID illness.
"I'm totally waiting on the (medical) reports," Ticats coach Orlondo Steinauer told reporters after a morning training session at Tim Hortons Field. "We're going to exhaust anything we can to let Teddy play. We'll also be prepared if he doesn't."
A club official later confirmed it was appendicitis. While the six-foot-one 299-pounder was not officially ruled out of Sunday's Grey Cup game, it would appear the Tiger-Cats will have to go to Plan B barring a recovery of biblical proportions.
Losing Laurent would be a major blow.
The Ticats had the best run defence in the league this season, limiting the opposition to 79.6 yards a game. Laurent's immovable bulk was one of the main reasons why and was being counted on to help blunt the battering ram that is Blue Bomber running back Andrew Harris.
A four-time divisional all-star and two-time all-CFL selection, Laurent was nominated as the East Division's Most Outstanding Canadian in 2014.
The big man has been a fixture in a hard-nosed Ticat defensive line that also features Ja’Gared Davis, Dylan Wynn and Julian Howsare.
Davis and Wynn were both East Division all-stars.
Lee Autry is a likely replacement. The six-foot-two 305-pounder dressed in four regular-season games, including two starts. The 25-year-old made his first career CFL start on Aug. 14 at Saskatchewan.
"Autry's had snaps. We've cycled in and out. Even in normal plays, I don't play the whole game, Ted doesn't play the whole game," said Wynn.
"Autry's a nice big body and he's an athletic big guy. And he's more than ready for this situation and this stage. And frankly he expected to play during this game anyway, That was something that we had talked about coming in. Whatever capacity he gets in, if he's playing one snap, if he's playing every snap — who knows what's going to happen when the roster shakes down — he'll rise to the situation."
Laurent played in 13 regular-season games, including 11 starts, and took part in both playoff games. He missed one game due to a knee injury.
The 10-year CFL veteran spent his first three seasons with Edmonton before landing in Hamilton as a free agent in June 2014.
"He's an all-decade player," said Wynn, who counts Laurent as one of his best friends. "Ted is an unselfish, amazing man, on and off the field."
"Ted is big-time, big-time," he added.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2021.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
