The Calgary Stampeders have acquired global punter James Smith in a trade with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
In exchange for the 27-year-old Australian, the Stampeders send a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2023 CFL draft and a third-round pick in the 2023 global draft to the Roughriders.
Smith punted twice for Saskatchewan during the pre-season and averaged 48.0 yards per kick.
Prior to turning pro, Smith played 49 games over four seasons at the University of Cincinnati and was all-American Athletic Conference each year, earning first-team honours in 2017 and 2018 and second-team recognition in 2019 and 2020. He finished his career with the Bearcats as the school’s all-time leader in punting yards. Smith had 235 career punts for 10,245 yards and a 43.6-yard average. He had 43 kicks of more than 50 yards and 91 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
In 2021, Smith signed with the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent.
