Steve McLendon to Jets: Latest Contract Details and Reaction

Free-agent nose tackle Steve McLendon has signed a three-year deal with the New York Jets worth up to $12 million with $4 million guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

McLendon made his signing official with a statement through his agent Richard Kopelman on March 16, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. 

Newsday's Kimberley A. Martin first reported the deal on March 15, and the Jets confirmed the signing on Monday.

McLendon spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and didn't see regular playing time until the 2013 season. After starting just one game with Pittsburgh over his first three years, McLendon started 30 over the next three. 

Rapoport noted that McLendon's road to becoming a starter wasn't easy after being invited to Steelers training camp in 2009 when another player backed out.

At 6'3", 310 pounds, McLendon developed into a solid run-stopping option for Pittsburgh last season. According to Dave Bryan of Steelers Depot, the opposition averaged only 2.18 yards per carry while he was on the field through the first 15 weeks of the season. 

However, the Steelers weren't willing to pay as much as the Jets were for McLendon, according to Fowler. Without him, Pittsburgh might promote 23-year-old Daniel McCullers to a more prominent role on the defensive line.

McLendon will be joining a Jets team that had the league's second-best rushing defense last season. Nose tackle Damon Harrison signed with the New York Giants, which left a hole in the Jets defensive line. 

Harrison put up a career year in 2015 with 72 total tackles and a forced fumble, but the Giants simply put up more money than the Jets, according to Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media.

Now the Jets will have to hope that McLendon can provide a seamless transition at nose tackle and allow them to keep their high standard on the defensive line. 

That's a lofty goal for McLendon, who has never recorded more than 33 combined tackles in a single season. He is a better pass-rusher than Harrison, though, as McLendon has five career sacks, while Harrison has just 1.5. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.