Raiders rookie linebacker Cody Lindenberg is doing his best to navigate his first year in the NFL.
The seventh-round pick out of Minnesota has already become a fixture on special teams, though the 23-year-old has yet to earn a snap on defense.
Lindenberg, a native of Anoka, Minnesota, sat down with the Review-Journal this week to discuss his adjustment to professional football:
**RJ:** How is your first season in the NFL going so far?
**Lindenberg:** It’s been great. I mean, I just think it’s attacking every day with the mindset that any day could be your last. The last snap, the last time you get to do anything in this life. So I think it’s just taking advantage of every opportunity. And I think having no regret is something that I really take home with me. Being able to lay my head on a pillow at night, being able to know that I did my absolute best to make myself better than I was the day before. That’s just been my process, getting better every single day and not worrying about the future.
**RJ:** People often assume the life of an NFL player is glamorous, but how much of a grind is it?
**Lindenberg:** I think it just goes back to what your motivations are and what you value. If you’re in it for the money, the fame, I think it can get worn out pretty fast. But I think if you’re in it for the love of the game — and for me, it’s to be able to pay back the loved ones who have gotten me to where I’m at — then I think it’ll be a lot more pleasant and a lot more gratifying to yourself and those around you. So I just think it’s the perspective and motivations you have going into it.
**RJ:** NFL rosters are a lot smaller than the ones in college. So how many of the Raiders’ three linebacker spots have you had to learn?
**Lindenberg:** I think for your own best interests, you want to know them all, right? It’s a long season. Injuries happen. So to be able to know every position, especially in the linebacker room, makes you more versatile. And the more versatile you are, the more opportunities you’re going to have to get on the field. So I think if you want to get on the field faster, then know as many spots as you can.
**RJ:** How do you measure your progress without the benefit of game reps on defense?
**Lindenberg:** I think for me, it’s doing my absolute best every day to make sure I got better than I was the day before. Because that’s all I can control. I can’t control what other people are doing, what the team across from us does. I don’t control what play calls the opposing offense calls. But what I can do is my job. I can make sure I go as hard as I possibly can. Because again, I don’t want to lie my head on the pillow at night and think, ‘Dang, I could have done this a little bit better, I could have gone a little bit harder.’ So for me, it’s just going all out every play and making the most out of every opportunity.
**RJ:** How are you getting acclimated to your new home?
**Lindenberg:** It’s been interesting because I’ve never really been out to Vegas. I didn’t travel a lot even when I was younger. The majority of traveling I’ve had is just for football. And you’re not doing anything there except playing ball. So it’s definitely been interesting. It’s definitely dry. But I do like the dry heat. It’s a lot different than like a humid Minnesota summer. And the days that we’re getting now, where it’s 70 degrees outside right now, those days are awesome. It reminds me of Minnesota. Cool, crisp air in the fall. It reminds me a little bit more of home. But I’ve loved every minute of it.
**RJ:** Any thoughts on Las Vegas?
**Lindenberg:** Las Vegas is great. The people are great. There’s just about anything you can do. There’s plenty of things to do on the Strip, but the thing that I really appreciate is all the things you can do outside of the Strip. You don’t only have to go there for entertainment, for dinners. You can go anywhere. So that’s something that me and my fiancee have really been exploring.
**RJ:** You come from a beautiful state in Minnesota. Are you finding any beauty in Las Vegas?
**Lindenberg:** Yes, Minnesota’s beautiful, but like driving in from my home here, the mountains are just unbelievably beautiful. You can’t find that anywhere else.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com](mailto:vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com). Follow [@VinnyBonsignore](https://x.com/VinnyBonsignore) on X.