Mikail Kamara’s NFL start has hit a brutal snag before it ever really got going.
After going undrafted this spring, Kamara signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent and headed into camp trying to earn a place on the roster. Instead, his first run in the league was interrupted by an apparent knee injury on Saturday that forced him to be carted off the practice field. By Sunday, the 49ers had waived him with an injury designation.
It’s a painful turn for a player who was coming off a huge rise at Indiana after following Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Bloomington in 2024. The move worked out well for both sides. Kamara became a centerpiece of the Hoosiers’ defense, and Indiana rode that surge all the way to a historic National Championship last season.
His production in Bloomington made him impossible to miss. In 2024, Kamara started all 13 games and posted 10.0 sacks, 47 tackles and 15.0 tackles for loss. That season earned him First Team All-Big Ten and Third Team All-America recognition.
He kept climbing in 2025. Kamara started all 16 games, led the Big Ten with 59 total QB pressures, and remained a steady presence on special teams.
He also delivered one of the defining plays of Indiana’s title run. In the CFP National Championship Game against Miami (FL), his blocked punt in the third quarter was quickly recovered by Isaiah Jones for a touchdown.
The play swung momentum toward the Hoosiers, and Kamara was named the defensive MVP of the title game.
Indiana fans have plenty of reason to keep pulling for him. Earlier this spring, the Hoosiers set a program record with eight players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Kamara wasn’t among them. He still landed with the 49ers soon after, and now the focus shifts to recovery and whatever opportunity comes next.
For now, there’s no official timeline for his return. What is clear is that the setback puts his NFL path on hold, even after everything he built over the last two seasons in Bloomington.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Changed How Indiana's Future Schedule Will Be Judged
Indianas future nonconference slate took another hit when its planned home-and-home series with Notre Dame for 2030-31 was canceled, removing one of the more recognizable games from the Hoosiers schedule. The change comes as Notre Dame moved to renew its rivalry with USC in a four-game series, keeping one of college footballs marquee matchups on the calendar and leaving Indiana to keep reshaping its own future dates.
For Indiana, the timing only sharpens the conversation around how its schedules will be judged going forward. The Hoosiers currently do not have any Power Four non-conference opponents lined up, a detail that has already drawn criticism about the strength of their future slates. Losing Notre Dame adds another layer to that scrutiny, especially with so much attention now on how programs position themselves for selection committees and public perception alike. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Just Added Real Heat To Notre Dame-USC Again
Lincoln Riley has put fresh attention back on one of college footballs most stubborn rivalries by revisiting the Notre Dame-USC scheduling issue. The USC coach pointed to the reality of the Trojans conference calendar as part of the reason the matchup has landed where it has, while also taking aim at Notre Dames choices along the way. It is the kind of public back-and-forth that keeps a long-running series from going stale, even when the games themselves are still years away.
For Notre Dame, the timing matters because the rivalry is officially set to restart in 2030, with the games scheduled early in the season. That only raises the stakes around every comment and countercomment between the two sides, especially when the conversation shifts from tradition to logistics. Rileys latest remarks do not change the calendar, but they do remind both fan bases that the tension around this series is already back in full view. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Still Waiting On The Indiana Matchup Fans Wanted
Indiana footballs future non-conference slate has been drawing attention, and not in the way Notre Dame fans had hoped. Under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have mapped out a schedule through 2029 that stays away from any Power Four opponent outside the Big Ten, a sharp turn from the kind of game that can make an autumn calendar feel a little bigger.
Indiana had previously had games with Virginia and Louisville on the books before moving on to lighter opponents, and Cignetti has described the approach as SEC-style in its emphasis on conference play. For Notre Dame, though, the matchup people keep circling is still a ways off, with the first series between the programs now slated for 2030-31. [Read more 🡒]