After not playing in his first year on campus at San Diego State University in 2007 while Kevin O'Connell was the Aztecs' starter, Lindley started 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2008. During the season, he completed 242 of 427 passes for 2,653 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. As a sophomore in 2009 he started 12 games and completed 239 of 437 passes for 3,054 yards with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. As a junior in 2010 Lindley completed 243 of 421 passes for 3,830 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He helped lead the Aztecs to the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl, their first Bowl game since the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl.[1] He helped them defeat the Navy Midshipmen 35 to 14 after completing 18 of 23 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns.[2]
Lindley was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).[7] On November 18, 2012, he replaced John Skelton in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He made his first professional start on November 25 against the St. Louis Rams. In his first season, he posted a very low 46.7 passer rating and threw 7 interceptions compared to 0 touchdowns. After two seasons with the team, Lindley was released by the Cardinals on August 25, 2014.
On November 11, 2014, Lindley re-signed with the Cardinals after a season-ending injury to Carson Palmer. On December 11, 2014, starting quarterbackDrew Stanton was injured in the game against the Rams, Lindley entered the game and saw his first in-game action since 2012. On December 28, 2014, against the San Francisco 49ers, Lindley threw his first career touchdown pass to Michael Floyd, ending an NFL-record 228 pass attempts without a touchdown to start his career.[9] He finished the 2014 season with a 48.4% completion rate, 562 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a 56.8 passer rating.[10]
On January 3, 2015, in the Cardinals' first-round playoff game at the Carolina Panthers, Lindley completed 16 of 28 passes for 82 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.[11] He had a passer rating of 44.3 and Arizona lost 27–16.[11] The Cardinals totaled 78 yards of offense, the fewest in NFL playoff history.[12]
New England Patriots
On August 10, 2015, Lindley agreed to terms with the New England Patriots.[13] On September 5, 2015, the Patriots released Lindley after the last preseason game.[14]
Indianapolis Colts
On December 29, 2015, Lindley signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[15] On January 3, 2016, Lindley split time with fellow recent signee Josh Freeman in the Colts season finale against the Tennessee Titans and went 6/10 for 58 yards and a touchdown in the 30–24 win.[16]
Ottawa Redblacks
After not playing professional football for more than a year, Lindley signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on February 2, 2017.[17] Lindley saw the most action during the preseason for the Redblacks; he completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 140 yards with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. Lindley made his first CFL start on September 22, 2017: Starting quarterback Trevor Harris and backup Drew Tate were both out with injuries. Lindley played very poorly, completing just 16 of 36 pass attempts (44.4%) for only 151 yards (4.2 yards per attempt), with one interception and the Redblacks were beaten handily by the Blue Bombers 29–9.[18] Lindley was not much better in the team's next match against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, completing 17 of 31 pass attempts (54.8%) for 161 yards (5.2 yards per attempt), with one touchdown and one interception.[19] On March 6, 2018 Lindley was released by the Redblacks.[20]
Lindley was hired as the running backs coach for the Cleveland Browns on October 31, 2018, after running backs coach Freddie Kitchens was promoted to offensive coordinator.[23] On January 14, 2019, he was named the Browns' quarterbacks coach.[24]
Utah
In 2020, Lindley worked as an offensive analyst for the Utah.
Lindley was named the quarterbacks coach at San Diego State on October 2, 2022.[26] He became the offensive coordinator in 2023.[27] He became senior offensive analyst in 2024.[28]
Personal life
After being released by the Colts, Lindley's agent, Rep 1 Sports, hired him as a coach. He was tasked with getting Carson Wentz and Jared Goff ready for their NFL Combine and Pro Day performances.[29][30][31][32][33][34] In 2014, Lindley was a stand-in body double for Andrew Luck in a Visa commercial that featured Cardinals teammate Larry Fitzgerald. The commercial also featured Drew Brees and Colin Kaepernick through CGI. At San Diego State University, Lindley majored in Social Science Teaching.
