The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are waiving rookie safety Shilo Sanders, per multiple reports. Sanders — son of Colorado coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders and brother of rookie Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders — signed with the Buccaneers in April after going undrafted, but will not make the team's final roster.
Shilo Sanders, like his brother, played at Colorado for his father. Sanders' agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, told ESPN's Adam Schefter that they are hoping he will get claimed on waivers.
The move comes one day after Sanders was ejected from the Buccaneers' preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills for taking a swing at Bills tight end Zach Davidson. Sanders and Davidson started fighting after Davidson roughly blocked Sanders on a play.
Sanders swiped at the tight end right in front of an official, who quickly hit him with an unnecessary roughness penalty.
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Buffalo went on to win the game, 23-19. Sanders had one tackle in that game, totaling four tackles in limited snaps across the three preseason games.
Sanders was already a third-string safety on Tampa Bay's depth chart heading into Saturday's game. Though it's unclear if the incident was a factor in the Bucs letting him go, head coach Todd Bowles made his stance clear after the game.
"You can't throw punches in this league. I mean, that's inexcusable. They're gonna get you every time. Gotta grow from that," Bowles said in a postgame news conference.
In addition to the swipe, one of Sanders' off-field incidents is a $11 million legal judgment owed in a lawsuit. Sanders, who was accused of attacking a security guard in high school, owes that man the debt after he won via a default judgment. Sanders filed for bankruptcy in 2023 in an attempt to erase that debt, and is awaiting a judge's ruling to determine whether he'll have to pay out the amount.
Sanders had signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers worth nearly $3 million, but that deal is now moot as he is placed on waivers.
Both Sanders brothers had primarily relied on their father as their agent in the 2025 NFL Draft. After the going undrafted, Shilo Sanders fired his father and hired Rosenhaus and Bailey as his agents, with the pair getting him signed with Tampa Bay. They will now attempt to find a new landing spot for the safety.
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