Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith loves his tight ends. He showcased that again on Monday, as the Falcons hosted Canadian Football League tight end Nikola Kalinic for a workout.
Also a Canada native (Toronto, Ontario), Kalinic spent the 2022 season with the Indianapolis Colts. He never played more than 17 offensive snaps in a game, but he did start two of the seven contests where he dressed.
While he didn’t touch the ball on offense, Kalinic returned one kick return 15 yards against the New York Giants.
The Colts released Kalinic this offseason.
The 26-year-old played at York College after attending high school outside of Toronto. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats drafted Kalinic in the second round of the 2019 CFL draft.
While playing in the CFL, Kalinic posted 23 catches, 192 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 30 games.
Since the Colts released him, Kalinic has also reportedly worked out for the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns.
The Falcons have already addressed tight end this offseason, but it’s not surprising that the team would bring in another tight end for a workout. That’s because Smith has loved deploying multiple tight end sets during his first couple seasons as Falcons head coach.
That should be a common occurrence again for Atlanta this fall. Former No. 4 overall pick Kyle Pitts is expected to return healthy. Furthermore, the Falcons traded for Jonnu Smith this offseason.
Smith also has Parker Hesse and Feleipe Franks to use at his disposal at tight end.
The Falcons could be interested in adding Kalinic to their roster for what he did on special teams last season. He played 42 snaps on special teams with the Colts. That was just five snaps short of what he played on offense.
In the games where he dressed, Kalinic lined up for 23% of Indianapolis’ snaps on special teams.
