Humble and hungry, Shilo Sanders looks to forge NFL path with Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. — As long and as difficult as Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ draft fall was, waiting until the fifth round to be picked by the Browns, his older brother and former teammate Shilo had to wait even longer.

The 25-year-old safety, who with Shedeur played for their father Deion at Jackson State and Colorado, was not among 257 players chosen in the draft, but signed with the Bucs shortly after.

“My agent called and said, ‘Bucs are offering you a contract,’ and I think I did the Dougie for about 15 minutes,” Sanders said Saturday, wearing a red No. 28 jersey as he took part in Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp. “I’m just so grateful for the opportunity of them giving me this chance when nobody else would at that time.”

Sanders isn’t especially big or fast, but Bucs coach Todd Bowles has put a premium on finding “ballhawks,” ramping up the defense’s ability to take the ball away from opponents, and that is a strength for Sanders. His first year at Colorado in 2023, he forced four fumbles, a big number for a defensive back, and he had an 80-yard interception return at Colorado in addition to five interceptions in two years at Jackson State.

“It’s just an ‘it’ thing: Either you’ve got it or you don’t,” Sanders said. “Throughout my whole career, I’ve always been a guy that gets the ball out, in any way, shape or form — forced fumbles, picks. I’m going to get the ball, and that’s the whole part of playing defense: We want to get the offense the ball.”

Bowles is often hesitant to lob praise at Bucs newcomers in a rookie minicamp played in shirts and shorts, with no contact, so what can impress him the most is players picking up the defense, showing an understanding and awareness from the very start.

“Like the rest of the safeties, he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud,” Bowles said Friday after the first day of minicamp. “You can hear him today, making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1. There were about three or four of them that did. He was one of them, but you have to make plays in pads. That’s what it comes down to — knowing what to do and then doing it consistently and constantly getting better every day.”

Bowles, himself a former NFL safety whose playing days overlapped with Deion Sanders’, was part of why Shilo chose the Bucs. They also have a lack of established depth that gives an undrafted rookie a better chance of making the 53-man roster. They have a Pro Bowl starter in Antoine Winfield Jr. — like Sanders, the son of a longtime NFL defensive back — and will likely have second-year pro Tykee Smith as the other starter. The competition for depth spots is between other undrafted players with limited experience, so Sanders will have a window to prove himself in training camp and preseason.

The Sanders brothers, playing together on their father’s teams for the past four years, are now separated but going through the same NFL initiation. Shiloh is two years older than Shedeur, who was touted as a potential high first-round pick but had to wait two days before ultimately landing in Cleveland. They have their father’s confidence and a new motivation, wanting to prove they belong in the NFL to build names of their own.

“We’re on the same schedule right now, actually,” Shiloh said. “I think he’s doing an interview right now, too. So he wants some brotherly love. He misses me and stuff. His big brother’s not next to him no more in practice. We talk a lot.”

The Sanders family had a tough draft weekend, watching and waiting before Shedeur’s name was finally called, and Shilo said he’s learned not to dwell on any disappointment but to focus his energy on how he moves forward with the opportunity he has, not getting caught up in the highs and lows of the past.

“My take on being disappointed in lows is that it’s not a real low because you can’t change the past,” he said. “I just trust God, and I always end up doing something great, so I just know it’s going to happen, and whatever is happening currently is to learn or grow from.”

Sanders started his college career with two years at South Carolina, so he’s been out on his own before, independent of his brother and father as he is now. He’s settling into his new home in Tampa, learning which coaches he can get extra study sessions with, working up a spreadsheet of his fellow safeties’ favorite snacks so the position room is well-stocked for long meetings. He’s asking for beach recommendations, grateful the altitude in Colorado has him well-conditioned for the heat he’ll now face in Tampa.

“I just want to prepare myself the best I can,” he said.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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