Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Shedeur Sanders’ Brother Shilo Sanders’ Recent Setback Casts Severe Doubts Over His Selection

Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Heading into the 2025 NFL draft, the Sanders’ clan was upbeat as it had not one but two members getting drafted in the league. Shedeur Sanders’ brother, Shilo Sanders, went undrafted but was later signed by the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.

Playing the safety position, the elder Sanders was inserted into a Bucs’ defense that has a defensive-oriented head coach, Todd Bowles, who is known for his work with the secondary. However, after two preseason games, there is quite a bit of uncertainty around Shilo and his ability at the professional level of the game.

The other Sanders, Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders: pic.twitter.com/tboptbDeXN
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 10, 2025

Shilo Sanders May Not Make the Cut

Following the game against the Steelers, Tampa Bay has now completed two preseason games. In the week 2 preseason game against Pittsburgh, Shilo Sanders had a performance to forget as he missed multiple tackles and was rather ineffective in coverage.

This has now led to speculation that he may not make the 53-man roster, which teams must finalize by Tuesday, August 26. As per the latest reports going around, the former Colorado Buffaloes’ safety is expected to be cut to a practice squad player.

Buccaneers S Shilo Sanders is looking like a practice squad candidate.

“Sanders looks like a PS safety right now and really needs to show up with a big play or two against Buffalo in the finale in order to make his case for inclusion in the 53-man roster.”

(via Pewter Report) pic.twitter.com/qqnCAsSOzF
— Football Forever (@fballforeverhq) August 17, 2025

In the two games that Shilo has played so far, he has made only 3 tackles, although his performance against the Titans in the first game was well received. The 25-year-old didn’t allow a single reception and was spot on with his coverage while also delivering a quarterback hit.

At the safety position, the Bucs currently have J.J. Roberts, Kaevon Merriweather, Christian Izien, Tykee Smith, and Antoine Winfield Jr. all ahead of him on the depth chart. In order to eclipse one of them, Sanders will now have to put in a significantly improved performance in the final preseason game against the Bills.

Contrasting Fates for Sanders’ Brothers?

The Sanders brothers are on the brink of different fates in their rookie season in the NFL. Shedeur, who plays quarterback, was drafted onto a team that is currently immersed in a quarterback battle for the starting position.

The Browns currently have five signal callers, all vying for the starting role ahead of the regular season. A more than decent performance in week one against the Panthers has earned Shedeur quite a bit of praise, and he genuinely has the chance of making the cut for the Browns, even if he is not named the starter.

Superstar: Despite Shedeur Sanders being ranked QB4 for the Browns, he is the team's cover athlete on the NFL shop.

It’s only a matter of time ⌚ pic.twitter.com/wszpjJgBfH
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 18, 2025

As for Shilo, things are more complicated and time is less. The son of Deion Sanders, who himself was a standout cornerback during his time, Shilo had impressed with his work ethic and playmaking skills throughout training camp. Known for being one of the hardest hitters on the team, Shilo will have to bring his A-game if he has any chance of making the roster this season.

Both brothers will have one last opportunity to showcase their ability ahead of the regular season, due to start in the first week of September. It will be interesting to see how they go about their business till then and whether they have it in them to put in the performances worthy of the 53-man roster.

Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

NFL

Shedeur Sanders

Shilo Sanders

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!