How Shilo Sanders Fits With Tampa Bay Buccaneers As Undrafted Free Agent

He'll have to fight to earn a 53-man roster spot this fall, but former Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders has earned an NFL opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Soon after the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft ended on Saturday, Sanders signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Buccaneers. The middle son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders played six seasons at the college level, including the past two in Boulder. Shilo recorded 67 total tackles, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one sack last year.

Tampa Bay reached the playoffs last season at 10-7, led by coach Todd Bowles, quarterback Baker Mayfield and veteran wide receiver Mike Evans. Bowles' Bucs didn't select a safety in the draft, but they did add two cornerbacks in Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame) and Jacob Parrish (Notre Dame). Former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka was Tampa Bay's first-round pick (No. 19 overall).

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

How does Shilo fit with the Bucs? Again, he's far from guaranteed a final roster spot but Tampa Bay needs help at the safety position after an injury-riddled 2024 campaign. When healthy, however, the Bucs have a strong leader at safety in former Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield Jr., who signed a four-year, $84.1 million contract last season.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are moving on from fellow safety Jordan Whitehead, opening up a starting opportunity. Other Tampa Bay safeties fighting for extra playing time include Kaevon Merriweather, who resigned with the Bucs in March, Tykee Smith, Christian Izen, Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks.

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While Shilo has plenty of work ahead of him, his physical playing style and six years of college experience make him an intriguing piece for the Bucs. Still, he'll have to improve his open-field tackling and his technique on tackles that could draw a flag in the NFL.

A special day for the Sanders family ❤️

(via @ShiloSanders) pic.twitter.com/Nor6ucALaL
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 27, 2025

"My selling point to teams and why they should draft me? If you want a safety that's going to play like a safety, that's going to be physical, be a leader in the secondary, take coaching, be an extension of the defensive coordinator, do my job and everything I'm supposed to do, then I'm the guy," Shilo said at Colorado's pro day earlier this month."

Fortunately for Shilo, he has enjoyed a strong offseason, which included a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at Colorado's pro day.

"I'm pretty sure he surprised a lot of you guys with his 40 time today, and I'm so darn proud of him," Deion Sanders said. "He does not take a backseat to his brothers. He does not take a backseat to anybody. He's a worker. He's a go-getter and he's a dog. He's a doer. I love what he represents. I love who he is on and off the field, and he's a great young man."