A Toronto-born tight end who built an NFL career after starting out at York University in Canadian college football.
Nikola Kalinic has bounced between the practice squad and active roster across stops with the Colts, Rams and now the Bears, a journeyman path built on a college career at York University far from the typical NFL pipeline. He remains on Chicago's roster as organizational tight end depth.
Path to the league
Kalinic played college football at York University in Toronto from 2015 to 2018 before going undrafted in 2019. He broke into pro football through stops in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before eventually landing NFL opportunities with the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams.
Career highlights
At 6-foot-4 and 248 pounds, Kalinic has carved out a career as a depth tight end, using a path through Canadian university football and the CFL that few of his NFL peers share. Simply sticking on NFL rosters across multiple organizations over several seasons is the throughline of his career.
2025 season recap
Kalinic spent the 2025 season primarily on the Chicago Bears' practice squad, appearing in one game via a standard elevation in Week 12 and finishing the year without a regular-season reception. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bears in January 2026 to remain with the organization.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Nikola Kalinic (gridiron football)
- Pro Football Reference: Nikola Kalinic
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Tight End
- Group
- offense
- College
- -
- Hometown
- Toronto, ON, Canada
- Age
- 29
- Status
- active
