Los Angeles Rams elevate Canadian TE Nikola Kalinic to 53-man active roster

Courtesy: AP Photo/Kyusung Gong

Canadian tight end Nikola Kalinic has been elevated to the Los Angeles Rams 53-man active roster for Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The 27-year-old recorded two receptions for 34 yards during NFL preseason action. He spent all of last season and Week 1 this year on the team’s practice roster.

Kalinic spent 2022 with the Indianapolis Colts. He was promoted to the 53-man active roster for the second half of the season, dressing in seven games while recording one kickoff return for 15 yards.

The Toronto native was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the second round, 10th overall during the 2019 CFL Draft. The York University product dressed for 30 games over two seasons with the Ticats, making 23 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

At the 2019 CFL Combine, Kalinic recorded a 4.79-second 40-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 (2015-2018) at York 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.

Kalinic has earned over $876,000 USD playing in the NFL.