Canadian tight end Nikola Kalinic joins practice squad with Los Angeles Rams
By John Hodge -August 30, 2023
Photo: AP/David Zalubowski
Canadian tight end Nikola Kalinic has joined the practice squad with the Los Angeles Rams, per sources. He was waived by the team at the conclusion of training camp.
The 26-year-old spent the first half of the 2022 NFL season on the practice roster with the Indianapolis Colts. He was promoted to the active roster for the second half of the season, dressing for seven games and recording one kickoff return for 15 yards.
The Toronto native was waived by the team in May and worked out for the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons before signing with the Rams.
Kalinic was selected in the second round of the 2019 CFL Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He dressed for 30 games over two seasons with the club and recorded 23 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
At the 2019 CFL Combine, Kalinic recorded a 4.79-second forty-yard dash, 4.44-second shuttle, 7.44-second three-cone, 30.5-inch vertical, nine-foot, four-inch broad jump, and 10 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
The six-foot-four, 245-pounder appeared in 31 games over four seasons (2015-18) at York University and caught 38 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first player in school history to be named to the OUA all-star team twice in one season, once on offence and once on special teams.
