Veteran defensive tackle Steve McLendon was thrown a life raft on Sunday, as the abysmal New York Jets traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following arguably their worst loss of the season. It sounds like McLendon couldn’t wait to get away from his former team when he was informed of the move.
Reports of McLendon being traded to the Bucs surfaced less than two hours after the Jets’ 24-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins. According to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports, McLendon almost immediately got into a car and drove from Miami to Tampa.
DT Steve McClendon was traded at the end of yesterday's Jets-Dolphins game from the Jets to the Buccaneers. He didn't waste any time joining his new team.
I'm told he just got into a car and drove from Miami to Tampa Bay last night.
And away we go.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) October 19, 2020
It takes about four hours to drive from Miami to Tampa, so it’s not like McLendon embarked on some insanely long journey. Still, it’s unusual for a player to travel to his new city that quickly, and we would not be surprised if McLendon’s decision had something to do with how horrible the Jets have been.
The Jets are the only team in the NFL without a win. The Buccaneers are coming off a huge blowout win over the Green Bay Packers and are clearly a playoff contender. For a 34-year-old veteran like McLendon, a trade like that is a dream come true.
Frank Gore aggressively called out his teammates following Sunday’s loss, and things will probably get worse for the Jets. There are almost certainly other players on their roster who are hoping they are fortunate enough to be traded.
