The Los Angeles Rams announced that they have signed former CFL tight end Nikola Kalinic, who spent last season on the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts.
A Toronto native, Kalinic was a second round draft pick in the CFL in 2019 where he went on to play a couple of seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats until 2021.
Kalinic then signed with the Colts last offseason although he was eventually waived on Aug. 30 and signed to the practice squad the following day. He was promoted to the active roster on Dec. 13 and appeared in seven games, making two starts for the Colts. He did not catch a pass, however, while playing 47 snaps on offense and 42 snaps on special teams.
The Colts wound up waiving Kalinic again in May and as a free agent he reportedly had workouts with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons before signing with the Rams.
The Rams, of course, still have Tyler Higbee as their starting tight end although the backup position is still up in the air.
Brycen Hopkins is the favorite to win the job in training camp as he has been the team’s primary backup the last couple of seasons. The Rams also acquired Hunter Long in the Jalen Ramsey trade with the Miami Dolphins and then drafted Davis Allen in the fifth round out of Clemson, so there will be plenty of competition.
Kalinic may be a longshot to make the Rams’ active roster, but he will get an opportunity along with the other tight ends in training camp and the preseason to show that they can produce at the NFL level behind the more experienced Higbee, who is in a contract year.
