Following Shedeur Sanders’ shocking decline in the 2025 NFL Draft, many people began to ponder if he might have returned to college football for another season. Given the amount of talk about his future and strong connections to the collegiate game, it’s reasonable to wonder. But there’s more to the answer than a simple yes or no.
Shilo Sanders Signs as UDFA With Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tough Battle Ahead To Make Final Roster
As things unfolded in this year’s NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders was not the only one from the Sanders family who had a disappointing draft. Shilo, Shedeur’s older brother who played safety at Colorado, went undrafted. After the event, he officially signed as a UDFA with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the Bucs did not make their move during the draft, their eventual signing of Shilo made sure he got his NFL opportunity on the same day as his brother.
While being a favorite to be picked in Round 1, Shedeur was the story of the draft when he fell to the fifth round.
His brother, Shilo, was also chasing his NFL dream, but was not selected in the draft. His journey as a UDFA will be a bit longer.
The signing was actually reported less than half an hour after the final pick on this year’s NFL Draft. Shilo is a strong defensive back prospect and the son of “Prime Time,” which obviously has its pluses.
Deion Sanders had all the compliments while addressing Shilo’s work ethic:
“Shilo has been consistency, a pillar of consistency. Shilo is an old-school player paying under these new-school guidelines. Shilo is a dawg. I am so damn proud of him. He does not take a back seat to his brother. He does not take a back seat to anybody. He is a worker.”
In the last campaign with Colorado, Shilo had 67 tackles and a sack in 10 games. While his profile was not up to the mark to be drafted, he still has a chance to make it into the roster.
Now, Sanders will have to battle for a spot on the 53-man roster or show enough for another team to bring him to the active roster after completing training camp in late summer.
The Bucs added to their secondary on Day 2, targeting Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison (Round 2) and Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish (Round 3). Both play corner and shouldn’t affect Sanders’ ability to make the team. Additionally, Tampa Bay has yet to sign another UDFA safety.
Antoine Winfield Jr. and Christian Izien are the current starters on the depth chart, with Rashad Wisdom, Marcus Banks, and Kaevon Merriweather filling behind. With Sanders’ work ethic and legendary NFL lineage, he could beat out last year’s UDFA duo of Wisdom and Banks, although the coaching staff is reportedly high on both.
As things stand, the Sanders brothers are on their way to be the second and third members of their family to reach the league after their father.
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For both Shedeur and Shilo, while the battle ahead of them is indeed a difficult one, with sheer determination and tenacity, they can write their own destiny.
While one will work on their progress in the Midwest, the other one will put in the work in Florida.
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