The cold business of NFL roster cuts is underway, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began their first wave by releasing safety Shilo Sanders.
The move wasn’t exactly a surprise. Sanders entered camp buried at the bottom of the depth chart and did little to improve his standing. He finished the preseason with just four total tackles but also had his fair share of missed tackles and didn’t make any big plays in coverage.
His fate was essentially sealed in the preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, when he was flagged for a questionable defensive pass interference and later ejected in the second quarter for throwing a punch at Bills tight end Zach Davidson.
The news is especially disappointing for Sanders, who had a real chance to stick around after fellow undrafted safety J.J. Roberts went down with a season-ending injury. That opened the door for him in a thin safety room, but he failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Sanders’ most notable highlight in a Bucs uniform came in the preseason opener against Tennessee, when he delivered a big quarterback hit. But after flashing early with a couple of hard tackles, his performance quickly tailed off.
He struggled against Pittsburgh in Week 2 with missed tackles and ineffective coverage, and the incident against Buffalo became the final nail in the coffin in regard to making the active roster.
And yet, Sanders’ time in Tampa Bay may not be over just yet. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the Buccaneers have not closed the door on doing business with him.
“Although the timing may have seemed to be a reaction to the ejection, the Bucs have not closed the door on doing business with him,” Florio reported.
“We’re told that the Buccaneers enjoyed having Shilo in the building, viewing the son of Deion Sanders as a good kid, who was at all times respectful to everyone. Shilo was also immediately remorseful following the incident that disqualified him from the second quarter of the game against the Bills.”
That leaves the door open for Sanders to potentially land on Tampa Bay’s practice squad, or at least remain on the team’s radar should depth issues arise later in the season.
For now, his NFL future is up in the air, but this isn’t the end of the line for Sanders just yet.
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