Deion Sanders called Buccaneers after they signed his son; here’s how Shilo Sanders can make the roster

The final day of the 2025 NFL Draft was an emotional one for Deion Sanders, who got to watch two of his sons — Shedeur and Shilo — both land with an NFL team. Not only did Shedeur get taken by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, but a few hours after the draft was over, Shilo signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. 

Although the family was definitely disappointed about Shedeur’s fall in the draft, the emotions were different when Shilo signed. Deion was definitely excited about the fact that his older son ended up in Tampa Bay. 

“I’m very thankful. Tampa’s a wonderful spot,” Deion said on the family’s Twitch stream following the draft Saturday. “Coach [Todd] Bowles is a defensive-minded guy. He’s brilliant.”

Deion was so excited about the fact that the Buccaneers signed Shilo that he actually made a personal call to Bowles to thank him, according to Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht. 

“Coach Prime called him Saturday night and thanked him for giving [Shilo] a fair shot,” Licht said, via Joe Bucs Fan.

Although Shilo got signed, the former Colorado safety will be a long shot to make the roster, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, Bowles made it clear he didn’t sign Shilo as a favor to Deion and that the signing only happened because the Buccaneers head coach sees some talent in Shilo. 

“I think he’s a good football player,” Bowles said of Shilo, via JoeBucsFan.com. “He’s a heck of a tackler and he knows the game very well; he can see the game very well. So giving him a chance to play, we think he has a shot to help us from a safety standpoint and from a special teams standpoint. So I’m excited to get him in here and see how he moves. I saw him tackle all year. I saw him make plays. He’s a very smart player and he understands the game very well. So we thought it was worth a shot to see what he can do. And I think he’ll show himself well.”

During the 2024 season, Shilo finished the year with 67 total tackles, 44 unassisted tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one forced fumble, according to Colorado. 

The Buccaneers have Antoine Winfield Jr. at safety, but things are pretty wide open after that. Shilo could certainly make the team as a depth piece at safety, and as Bowles mentioned, if he can play special teams, that will help his chances of making the roster.