Shilo Sanders waived by Buccaneers a day after preseason ejection

• by Arlen Fitzpatrick
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Waived after ejection: what happened and why now

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers told Shilo Sanders on Sunday he’s being waived, less than 24 hours after the rookie safety was ejected from the preseason finale in Buffalo for throwing a punch. The moment came in the second quarter, after the whistle, during a tangle with Bills tight end Zach Davidson. Linebacker John Bullock tried to pull Sanders away. Officials tossed him. Head coach Todd Bowles shook his head as Sanders headed to the sideline.

“You can’t throw punches in this league — that’s inexcusable,” Bowles said after Tampa Bay’s 23-19 loss. “They’re going to get you every time. You’ve got to grow from that.”

Sanders signed as an undrafted free agent and spent camp fighting for the fourth safety job. The room is led by Antoine Winfield Jr., with Tykee Smith and Christian Izien in key roles. Behind them, Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom were in the same roster battle as Sanders. On the margins, one bad snap — or one bad decision — can swing a call in late August.

Before Saturday night, the staff liked parts of Sanders’ game. Bowles praised him recently for his aggression and motor on special teams. He’s a straight-line hitter who can help in the box and chase down on coverage units. That’s the profile coaches want from a depth safety on game days: play fast, play clean, don’t put the defense in a bad spot.

The ejection cut into his last audition and left a mark the next morning. Still, Tampa Bay hasn’t fully closed the door. If he clears waivers, the Bucs could bring him back on the practice squad. Team staffers said he was remorseful, and people in the building liked how he worked. That matters this time of year.

Sanders is not just a name. He’s the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and the older brother of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The spotlight follows him, fair or not. But the NFL doesn’t grade on pedigree. It grades on tape, habits, and whether you can help on special teams by Week 1.

What comes next for Sanders — and for Tampa Bay’s safety room

The process now is straightforward. As a rookie with fewer than four accrued seasons, Sanders goes to waivers. Teams have 24 hours to submit a claim. The priority order at this point tracks last season’s standings. If he’s claimed, he goes straight to that club’s 53-man roster. If not, he’s free to sign to any practice squad, including Tampa Bay’s.

Practice squads can carry up to 16 players. Those spots are valuable. They keep young players in the building, give them reps on scout team, and let coaches develop traits without using an active roster slot. Teams can elevate a practice-squad player to the game-day roster up to three times before needing to sign him to the 53.

Sanders has a shot to stick in that lane because of his special teams potential. The tape from camp showed a willing tackler who likes contact and plays with energy. Coaches can work with that. What they can’t live with are penalties after the whistle. Saturday will be part of his file, but it doesn’t have to define him if the rest of his habits hold up.

Inside the Bucs’ secondary, the roles are fairly clear. Winfield Jr. is the tone-setter and an All-Pro. Smith is a versatile piece who can rotate down. Izien has played nickel and safety. The final seats are about trust and matchups: who communicates cleanly, who tackles in space, who can cover kicks without drawing flags. Merriweather and Wisdom are in that mix. Sanders was right there with them until the ejection pressed fast-forward on a tough decision.

The incident itself was simple: extra contact after the play, tempers flared, a punch thrown. The NFL’s rules on fighting leave little room for interpretation. Officials are instructed to eject for punches, and the league office often reviews those plays for possible discipline. That doesn’t always mean a fine, but it does mean eyes are on you. For a bubble player, that’s a problem you don’t need.

His agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, said they’re hoping another club puts in a claim. This is a busy window across the league. Every team must get down to 53 by Tuesday. Injuries, scheme fits, and special teams needs create churn at the bottom of rosters. Safeties who can run and tackle usually find practice squad homes, even if it takes a week.

Sanders’ college path shows why teams were curious. He started at South Carolina and later transferred to Colorado to play under his father. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Boulder, he appeared in 21 games with 137 tackles, a pick-six, and a sack. The book on him: downhill, physical, best close to the line, with enough speed to cover kicks. That profile fits how NFL teams fill the back end of the roster.

Where does he need to grow? It starts with control. Box safeties live in traffic. They have to thud and let go, finish and move on. Coaches also harp on angles, clean tackling, and staying penalty free on coverage units. Sanders has the traits. Now he has to package them in a way that doesn’t put the defense behind the chains.

For Tampa Bay, this is also about standards. Bowles has been blunt about discipline and situational football. The Bucs are trying to squeeze wins in a tight NFC South by winning the sloppy parts of games — field position, third down, red zone. That makes special teams and back-end tackling jobs non-negotiable. If you’re the fourth safety, you’re on the field first on punt and kick coverage, not the opening defensive snap.

If Sanders clears waivers and the Bucs do bring him back, the path is clear: stack quiet days, take coaching, and make his case on scout team. Practice squad players get called up all the time, especially early in the season when soft-tissue injuries pop and special teams depth gets thin. It doesn’t take long to go from a PS elevation to a Sunday role if you’re consistent.

If another team claims him, it will be because they see the same things Tampa Bay did before Saturday night — aggression, speed, and special teams value — and believe they can channel it. Either way, the next 48 hours will set his short-term future.

One more thing about timing. The finale is the last real job interview for a lot of young players. Sanders lost reps when he got tossed. That stings because tape matters more than anything in August. The best thing he has going is the work he put in before that moment, and the fact the Bucs didn’t slam the door on a return. In this league, that’s a hint: they think there’s something to develop if the process is right.

The name brings attention. The job brings pressure. The margins are tiny. Sanders’ next step — whether in Tampa Bay or elsewhere — will come down to the same traits that got him a shot in the first place: run, hit, and play under control when the whistle blows.