The Falcons don’t have many young players to build around, particularly along the offensive line. But Atlanta does have at least one big man fans will want around as long he’s willing to play for the Falcons — Chris Lindstrom. The Boston College product has been a staple of the offensive front since the team drafted him a handful of years ago, and Lindstrom sees himself being in Atlanta for a long time.
Falcons OL Chris Lindstrom wouldn’t say much about any potential contract extension, but said he would like to be with Atlanta for a long time.
The Falcons picked up his fifth-year option in May.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) July 26, 2022
Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to start and finish your career with a single organization. Atlanta sports fans know this better than most. The Falcons traded Matt Ryan and Julio Jones while the Braves elected not to re-sign Freddie Freeman. However, keeping Lindstrom in Atlanta for the rest of his career should be attainable.
As expected, the Falcons exercised Lindstrom’s fifth-year option earlier this offseason. He’s a stalwart on the interior of the offensive line and will earn $13.2 million in 2023 if he’s not extended beforehand, which should be a priority for the front office next offseason. Not many people outside of Atlanta know who Lindstrom is, but that’s what landed him on the NFL’s most underrated list.
Right guard Chris Lindstrom, however, was one of just three guards (Halapoulivaati Vaitai of the Lions and Justin Pugh of the Cardinals were the others) who didn’t give up a single sack among those who played at least 50% of their offenses’ snaps. The Falcons selected Lindstrom with the 14th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Boston College, and 2021 was the year in which Lindstrom was able to put it all together — he gave up just eight quarterback hits and 23 quarterback hurries in 661 pass-blocking reps. He also proved to be a good, technically sound run-blocker.
Lindstrom hints at playing in Atlanta for the rest of his career, and the Falcons would be fools not to oblige him — it’s not exactly the most attractive franchise to play for.
—
You must log in to post a comment.