Undrafted Sanders Joins Buccaneers, Ready To Be Team’s ‘Snack Guy’

Fresh off the field at Colorado, Shilo Sanders hit the practice turf with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 9. The undrafted safety wasted no time making his mark.

"Man, look at where we're at," Sanders said to Fox Sports. "Look at the whole coaching staff. It's a really supportive coaching staff. Everybody wants to see everybody do good. Everybody on the team, we all want to see each other win. It's a great environment to thrive in."

Despite missing three weeks with a broken arm, the 25-year-old racked up 67 tackles for the Buffaloes last season. His knack for big plays showed when he scooped up two loose balls, taking one to the house against Texas Tech.

Todd Bowles couldn't hide his excitement about the rookie's quick study of the playbook. "Like the rest of the safeties, he's very intelligent, he's very loud," Bowles told TSN. "You can hear him making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1."

Before stepping onto the practice field, Sanders picked the brain of star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. "He gave me the coaches I need to talk to to learn some extra," Sanders shared.

The new kid on the block plans to win hearts through stomachs, bringing snacks to team meetings. His brother Shedeur, now with Cleveland after a fifth-round pick, kicks off each day with a 6 a.m. wake-up call.

In his junior year, Sanders stripped the ball four times and turned a pick into six points. "It's just an 'it' thing. You either got it or you don't," he said. "Throughout my whole career, I've always been a guy who gets the ball out any way, shape, or form."

Rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish couldn't stop praising his new teammate's football IQ. "He's very smart," Parrish said. "He helped me a lot with the adjustments. I'm excited to work with him."

After the draft wrapped up, agent Drew Rosenhaus worked the phones until the Bucs came calling. The four-time NFC South winners aim to add some punch to their defensive backfield for the 2025 season.