TAMPA, Fla. — Steve McLendon was at the Jets' team hotel in South Florida last Saturday night preparing to play the Dolphins when he learned about his trade to the Bucs.
A car would be at the stadium after the game Sunday to pick him up and drive to Tampa, he was told.
The 34-year-old McLendon, the oldest defensive tackle in the league, went out and played 24 snaps on defense and seven on special teams.
He had four tackles in a 24-0 loss to the Dolphins, as the winless Jets fell to 0-6.
"Sunday morning, I woke up. I prayed. And I was like, 'It's one last ride,' " McLendon said Friday. "I told my boys, I was like, 'It's one last ride together.' A lot of guys were saying like, 'Man, you're going to really play?' And I was like, 'This might be the last time I play with you in my career.' I said, 'Let's go out here and make it a great one. Let's go have some fun.'
"Even though we had lost that day, there was good football played between us. When it was over with, it was emotional, very emotional, because I made a lot of great friends there and family members there that I call family now. The biggest thing is, I'm here now. This is one of the greatest opportunities for me in my career, and this is a great, great opportunity to come be a part of an organization that wants you at this age."
The Bucs wanted McLendon to help fill the void left by the season-ending broken leg suffered by Vita Vea.
A team captain for the Jets, where he spent five of his 11 pro seasons, McLendon was familiar with the Bucs' system, having played in it under Todd Bowles in New York.
But due to COVID-19 protocols, McLendon needed to begin the entry program Sunday to be able to practice by at least Friday in preparation for this week's game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
That meant McLendon would have to spend the week at a hotel using an I-pad for virtual team meetings to familiarize himself with the terminology of the defense.
He had some clothes mailed to him.
"Steve is a great human being and a heck of a player," coach Bruce Arians said. "He's the kind of guy you want to be around for what he did, you know, jumped in a car and came straight here. He had some clothes shipped in. We're heading to Vegas and will get him about 20 or 30 snaps."
McLendon finally got to go into the team headquarters Friday and practice for the first time with the Bucs.
It was a little surreal for McLendon when he ran into quarterback Tom Brady, a player he had been chasing around the field for the past five seasons.
"That was one of the things I said this morning," McLendon said. "When I first walked in, got into the locker room, I saw him and I was like, 'Man, we've been going against each other for the past couple years, and now we're on the same team.' And the funny thing is, my whole career I only beat him one time."
In fact, McLendon nearly had his only career interception against Brady while playing for the Jets.
"We were playing in Foxborough, and I had been listening to the audio all week, so I kind of picked up when he would throw a quick out or when we get a pressure on one side," McLendon said. "And I remember coach Bowles telling me, 'Man, when you pop out, get ready, because if we're going to blitz off this side, he's going to check the ball down to the other side.'
"And I remember, as I went to go to contain, he checked down on my side. I hit the ball. The ball hit in my hands, and I ended up dropping it. It would've been a pick and I probably would've scored, because it was very close to the end zone. I ended up dropping it and I will never forget it. When I came back, he was kind of like, 'You missed your chance.' "
But it's the opportunity to win again that excites McLendon, who spent his first six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"For me, I understand the business," McLendon said. "I've been in the game for a long time, so I understand, and when the trade was made, like I said, it was very emotional for me because I do have a lot of family and friends there. But at the same time, I was also excited coming from not being able to win to coming to an organization that winning is always something you want to do. You want to be a winner. You want to be remembered as a winner.
"Nothing against those guys. I really take my hat off to the Jets organization for allowing me to come there and play. But how I look at it is, when I step on the field, I step on the field to play. I'm going to give you all I have. Like I told the guys before the game last Sunday: 'Passion, plus energy equals victory.' That's what I told the defensive guys. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in here every day, be focused ... because I understand I only have one life to live, and I'm going to live it to fullest. I'm going to try and give everything I have back to these guys and to the game."
