(via Tampa Bay Buccaneers Communications) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers today re-signed nose tackle Steve McLendon. As per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
McLendon (6-3, 310) was acquired by the Buccaneers from the New York Jets on Oct. 20, 2020. He started each of the first six weeks of the regular season for New York before playing in nine games with Tampa Bay. In total, McLendon recorded 31 tackles, including two for loss.
He originally entered the league as a college free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009, where he remained until 2015, prior to signing with New York as an unrestricted free agent in 2016.
Over 153 career regular season games, including 90 starts, McLendon has tallied 265 tackles (42 for loss), 25 quarterback hits, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed.
McLendon has also played in seven career playoff games, making two starts, totaling 13 tackles (one for loss) and three quarterback hits. He played in three of Tampa Bay’s four postseason games in 2020 on the team’s road to a Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, recording five tackles and three quarterback hits.
Entering his 12th season in the NFL, McLendon has been a part of six defenses that finished in the top 10 in opponent rushing average, including both the 2020 season with the Buccaneers and the 2016 season in which McLendon played for then-Jets head coach and current Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles in New York.
The Ozark, Alabama, native and Troy University product wears No. 96 for Tampa Bay.
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