Tag: Nikola Kalinic

Predicting the Colts’ first 5 roster cuts before Tuesday’s deadline

Here’s a prediction of the Colts’ first five roster cuts before Tuesday’s deadline.

The Indianapolis Colts must reduce their roster from 90 to 85 players before the end of the league day Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, which means five players are getting the unfortunate call.

Sometimes a player will be released simply because they don’t fit in the plans for the Colts. Other times, it may be so that a player can get more reps with another team before the season arrives even if they are a solid player. That was likely the case with veteran offensive lineman Jason Spriggs.

The first five cuts may not be as difficult for the Colts because it’s likely coming down to a numbers game at deeper positions.

Here is a prediction of the Colts’ first five cuts following the preseason opener:

Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Tight Ends

The TE room is now being led by Mo Alie-Cox. Here’s our training camp preview of the position.

The Indianapolis Colts are just a few weeks away from returning to Westfield where fans will get to watch a tight end group compete for roles during training camp and the preseason.

This offseason featured the retirement of veteran Jack Doyle, who was one of the longest-tenured players on the roster in 2021. Despite still having one more year left on his contract, Doyle decided it was time to ride off into the sunset.

This expedited the process of the Colts needing to find his replacement. They re-signed Mo Alie-Cox to a three-year deal and picked up two more intriguing options during the 2022 NFL draft.

Be sure to check out the other position previews ahead of training camp:

With training camp set to begin July 26, here’s a look at our preview of the position:

Colts sign TE Nikola Kalinic to futures contract

The Colts added TE Nikola Kalinic to the roster on a futures contract.

The Indianapolis Colts signed tight end Nikola Kalinic to a reserve/futures contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Kalinic has spent two seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019 and 2021. He has played 30 games in those two seasons and is coming off of a 2021 campaign where he played in 14 games while recording 11 receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown.

The Colts have a lot of needs to address this offseason with the tight end position being one of them.

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Giants host Jonathan Woodard, three others for workouts

The New York Giants hosted former seventh-round pick Jonathan Woodard and three others for workouts in East Rutherford.

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The New York Giants have no general manager and no head coach, but that didn’t stop them from conducting workouts in East Rutherford on Wednesday.

In total, the Giants hosted four players, including defensive end Jonathan Woodard.

The 28-year-old Woodard was originally a seventh-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 NFL draft. After spending his rookie season with the Jags, he went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons (2017), Miami Dolphins (2017-2019), Buffalo Bills (2019-2020) and, most recently, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL (2021).

In six career regular season games, Woodard has recorded 10 tackles (two for a loss), two QB hits and 1.0 sacks.

The Giants also hosted punter Nolan Cooney, tight end Nikola Kalinic and defensive back J.J. Nunes for workouts.

Cooney signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Syracuse this past year, but was waived as a part of final cuts. He has since worked out for the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers, but hasn’t landed a job.

Kalinic was a second-round pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2019 CFL draft. The 24-year-old has spent all three years of his professional career up in Canada.

Finally, Nunes spent his college career in the FCS, lighting things up for Valparaiso University. He played seven total positions and won a multitude of awards. Despite his success, he’s spent the past three seasons in The Spring League.

None of the four players hosted for a workout were immediately signed to a reserve/futures contract.

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Tennessee Titans held tryout with CFL TE Nikola Kalinic

The Titans took a look at a CFL tight end on Thursday.

According to the league’s transactions wire, the Tennessee Titans had CFL tight end Nikola Kalinic in for a tryout on Thursday.

A former second-round pick in the 2019 CFL draft, Kalinic has played in 30 games over two seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, reeling in 23 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Here’s more information on Kalinic, according to John Hodge of 3DownNation, who first reported the tryout.

The six-foot-four, 255-pound native of Toronto is an impact blocker and plays consistently on special teams, notching eight special teams tackles in 2021. He has experience at slotback, tight end, H-back, and fullback and has appeared in back-to-back Grey Cup games.

Kalinic will be a CFL free agent in February but can sign with an NFL team at any time if offered a contract.

The Titans are a bit thin at the tight end position at the moment after the season-ending injury to MyCole Pruitt, and it’s a position the team must address during the offseason.

As far as Kalinic goes, it remains to be seen if Tennessee views the tight end as someone who could potentially help them right now, or if the idea is to sign him to a futures deal for next season.

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Seahawks worked out fullback, offensive lineman from the CFL

Yesterday. the team worked out a pair of players from the CFL, including offensive lineman Drew Desjarlais and fullback Nikola Kalinic.

No days off is not just a catchphrase in this business. NFL teams ply their trade 365 days a year and the Seattle Seahawks got to work retooling their roster 48 hours after their season ended.

Yesterday. the team worked out a pair of players from the CFL, including offensive lineman Drew Desjarlais and fullback Nikola Kalinic.

Desjarlais (6-foot-2, 313 pounds) has gotten several workouts around the league lately, including the Patriots and the 49ers.

Kalinic (6-foot-5, 256 pounds) also plays tight end and has scored two touchdowns in the last three seasons.

The Seahawks should be happy with what they got from Nick Bellore this season. He was a critical special teams piece and put in snaps at fullback and linebacker, so it’s hard to see any other fullback beating him out at this point.

Seattle’s offensive line could use some improvement, though. So Desjarlais may have a legitimate shot to be signed.

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Fenerbahce Beko forward Nikola Kalinic …