Chris Lindstrom’s first career holding penalty wasn’t even a penalty

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After being named a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career, Chris Lindstrom had another NFL-first against the Cardinals on Sunday. The fourth-year guard out of Boston College was called for a hold for the first time in his professional career.

If you look at the quotes and replies to Rothstein’s tweet, you’ll get the picture that the penalty wasn’t a penalty at all. I haven’t been able to find a video of the play, but believe me when I say it was the furthest thing away from a hold.

https://twitter.com/RiseUpReader/status/1609620921462947840?s=20&t=Y67INIRNjg87I0PUWEW7ow

If you’ve seen The Blind Side, the story of Michael Oher, then you might remember the moment early in his high school career when he takes an opponent all the way down the field and throws him over the fence. That is what Chris Lindstrom did — total domination.

Lindstrom has quickly supplanted Jake Matthews as the team’s best offensive lineman and rivals Grady Jarrett as the team’s best player in the trenches. Earlier in the season, I wrote about Lindstrom performing at an All-Pro level; all he’s done is continued the trend. He’s rated by many outlets, Pro Football Focus, in particular, as the best guard in the league. This season should and likely will end with All-Pro honors.

The Falcons will likely look to extend Lindstrom after picking up his fifth-year option earlier this offseason, which is set to pay him $13.2 million in 2023, a bargain for a player of his caliber. You can look toward the Packers deal with Elgton Jenkins‘ four-year, $74 million extension as a ballpark for Lindstrom’s future extension.

Lindstrom probably doesn’t reach that mark, but he’ll certainly garner a similar length deal worth somewhere around $15 million per season. He sees himself in Atlanta for a long time, and I imagine Arthur Smith feels the same way.

Photographer: Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire

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