Tampa Bay Buccaneers make roster decision on rookie Shilo Sanders

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reportedly informed rookie safety Shilo Sanders that he will be waived later Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Sanders’ release comes one day after the son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was ejected for throwing a punch at a Buffalo Bills player in their final preseason game.

Sanders’ agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, reportedly told Schefter: “we’re hoping he gets claimed on waivers.” Sanders initially joined the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in late April.

After the game, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles was critical of Sanders’ actions on the play, calling them “inexcusable.”

“You can’t throw punches in this league,” Todd Bowles said. “That’s inexcusable. They’re going to get you every time. Gotta grow from that.”

The ejection happened after Sanders got involved in a heated shoving match with Bills tight end Zach Davidson after Davidson appeared to extend his block of the Bucs DB beyond the whistle. That drew the ire of Sanders, particularly after the final shove, which prompted him swing at Davidson with a right cross. The referees had a good view of that, and flags were thrown immediately.

Here is the play that got Shilo Sanders ejected. pic.twitter.com/7LRplnywzo

— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) August 24, 2025

Earlier this month, Bowles praised Sanders’ development and acknowledged the former Colorado standout was making roster decisions difficult. Turns out it wasn’t difficult at all.

“He’s coming along. He’s getting the scheme down,” Bowles said. “He’s made plays like everybody else back there. There are a few tests that come up during the preseason – Tuesday night was one, and the other three preseason games and practices will be others. He’s got a chance to make it.”

Sunday’s release comes at a precarious moment for Sanders, who was already considered on the Buccaneers cut line before the ejection. While his agents are hopeful Sanders will be picked up on waivers, that’s hardly a certainty with NFL teams required to get to its 53-player roster limit by the end of business Tuesday.

This incident also comes at a time when there has been a magnifying glass on the Sanders family in general. Both Shilo and his brother Shedeur wrapped their college careers after playing for their legendary father Deion Sanders at Colorado the past two seasons. But neither were selected as high as they had hoped, with Shilo falling out of the draft altogether. Now, while Shedeur is confident he’ll remain on the Brown’s active roster, that’s more wishful thinking as most NFL teams don’t carry more than three active quarterbacks.

Meanwhile, Shilo Sanders is now just hoping to land on another NFL roster before final cuts are made Tuesday. If he’s not claimed by Monday afternoon, Shilo Sanders will clear waivers and be available as a free agent beginning Monday evening.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.