Perhaps the most notable move the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made during the weekend was the one that came after the NFL Draft was over. Signing Shilo Sanders as part of the team’s undrafted free agent class has been a major talking point across the NFL, and the stage has been set for the lesser known Sanders brother to make an impact.
If that happens it’ll likely be in Tampa, where the Bucs are hoping he can earn his keep and make the roster in training camp. There’s a ton of upside to that happening, from Sanders’ natural talent to the fact that he’d develop it alongside guys like Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, and Christian Izien.
Of course he brings plenty of family baggage with him to Tampa.
Shilo’s brother, Shedeur, experienced a historic tumble down NFL Draft boards and one of the reasons why has NFL insider Mike Florio raising some concern.
NFL insider questions one thing about Shilo Sanders’ future with Buccaneers
While breaking down a more positive part of the Shilo Sanders signing, ProFootballTalk said the quiet part out loud about why everyone is so skeptical to bring in anyone from the Sanders family this offseason.
"Any team that gives Shilo a shot needs to be ready for it to be a fair shot, because Deion has the public profile to call out anyone who doesn’t, in Deion’s view, give either Shilo or Shedeur a fair shot," Florio wrote.
That’s pretty much everyone’s chief concern when it comes to the Sanders family, and it’s likely a reason why Shedeur fell so far in the draft. The good news is that so far it seems that Deion is taking a backseat to Shilo’s journey, with his only interaction thus far being a heartfelt and touching one.
Jason Licht revealed that after the Bucs signed Shilo as an undrafted free agent, Deion called head coach Todd Bowles to personally thank him for giving his son a fair shot. Florio raises a valid concern in wondering how blurred the lines will get after this in terms of Deion’s involvement, but right now it seems that he might be letting this one play out on its own.
That’s the best move for Shilo, especially because he has a real shot at making the final 53-man roster. Whether it’s outright as part of the safety room, one that has been pretty thin over the last few seasons, or as a special teams guy, there seem to be more ways that Shilo makes the roster than doesn’t.
Deion hanging back and not doing what Florio and others are worried about will only help the situation. So far that seems to be the case, and until proven otherwise we need to give him and Shilo the benefit of the doubt.
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