Nikola Kalinic: Everything you need to know

The Bears signed Kalinic to a reserve/future contract Tuesday. Kalinic joined the Bears' practice squad in late August after failing to make the Falcons' 53-man roster at the end of training camp. He was elevated to Chicago's active roster four times, including in each of the Bears' two playoff games, though he did not record a target. Kalinic will be a part of the Bears' 90-man roster for the offseason and will be eligible to participate in OTAs and minicamp.

The Bears reverted Kalinic to their practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log. Kalinic was elevated ahead of Sunday's divisional-round loss to the Rams and logged 18 snaps, all of which came on special teams. The York University product got into two regular-season games this season, with all 29 of his snaps coming as part of the special-teams unit. The Bears' season is over, so unless he's signed to one of the remaining playoff teams' active rosters (which is very unlikely), Kalinic will now set his sights on trying to earn a roster spot somewhere for the 2026 campaign.

The Bears elevated Kalinic from the practice squad to the active roster Saturday ahead of Sunday's divisional-round matchup versus the Rams. Kalinic could provide extra depth at tight end should he end up being active for the game. The 28-year-old appeared in two games for Chicago during the regular season but didn't record any counting stats while playing exclusively on special teams.