Needing help on the defensive line after the season-ending injury to Vita Vea, the Bucs have traded for Jets defensive tackle Steve McLendon, Rick Stroud and Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times report.
McLendon, 34, played in the same 3-4 defensive scheme for Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles when he was the Jets head coach and also played under Bucs defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers in New York.
The Bucs sent their sixth-round pick in 2022 to the Jets and received New York’s seventh-round selection in 2023 as part of the deal.
In his fifth season with the Jets, McLendon was their longest-tenured player. He played 44 percent of the team’s defensive snaps going into Sunday’s game and will become a free agent at the end of this season.

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