Steve McLendon
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Stephen Craine McLendon (born January 3, 1986) is an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...
who is a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2009. He played college football at
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
.


Professional career


Pittsburgh Steelers

McLendon was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2009. He was a final cut on September 5 but re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on November 25 but re-signed on December 2. He was signed to a reserve/future contract on January 7, 2010. McLendon was a final cut for the second straight season when he was waived on September 4, 2010. He was re-signed to the practice squad the following day. The Steelers signed McLendon to their active roster on September 18 and he appeared in their game at Tennessee. He recovered a fumble in that game and made one tackle. He was waived again on September 20 but re-signed to the practice squad on September 22. On October 2, quarterback
Dennis Dixon Dennis Lee Dixon Jr. (born January 11, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and played with the team through 2011. He was a member of the Baltimore Rav ...
was placed on injured reserve and McLendon was called up again. McLendon was waived on October 7 to make room for
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
, who returned from his 4-game suspension. McLendon was re-signed to the Steelers' practice squad on October 11. McLendon was again signed to the active roster on October 30. He played in seven games for the entire season, recording one more tackle bringing his total tackles for the season to two. The Steelers finished the season with a 12–4 record to clinch the AFC North, and eventually reached
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, only to lose to the Green Bay Packers 25–31. In the 2011 season, McLendon appeared in a career high fourteen games. He totaled 13 tackles with one sack. For the 2012 season he played in all 16 games, registering seven tackles and two sacks. After the season, McLendon became a restricted free agent. McLendon visited with the Green Bay Packers before resigning with the Steelers for a three-year deal worth $7.25 million, including $1.675 million guaranteed. In the 2013 season, he appeared in 14 games with 33 tackles and a forced fumble. In 2014, he played in 12 games with 22 tackles and a sack. In 2015, he appeared in all 16 games for the first time of his career, finishing the year with 14 tackles and a sack.


New York Jets

On March 16, 2016, the New York Jets signed McLendon to a three-year, $12 million contract with $4 million guaranteed. Making his first start for the Jets on September 11, 2016, McLendon had tied a career high two sacks of the team's six sacks in the Week 1 loss against Cincinnati Bengals. On March 14, 2019, McLendon re-signed with the Jets. He signed a one-year contract extension on October 12, 2019 through the 2020 season.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 18, 2020, McLendon and a 2023 seventh-round pick were traded to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
for a 2022 sixth-round pick. He was placed on the reserve/
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list by the Buccaneers on January 1, 2021, and activated on January 11. McLendon appeared in Super Bowl LV, where the Buccaneers defeated the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...
by a score of 31–9. McLendon re-signed with the Buccaneers on April 14, 2021. In a Monday Night Football game on November 22, 2021, McLendon recorded his first career interception after twelve seasons in the NFL, intercepting a pass from Daniel Jones of the New York Giants in the game's third quarter. He became the second-oldest player to record his first career NFL interception.


References


External links


Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioNew York Jets bioPittsburgh Steelers bioTroy Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLendon, Steve Living people 1986 births People from Ozark, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Troy Trojans football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Jets players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players