Shilo Sanders Says Bucs Were 1st Team to Call Him After 2025 NFL Draft

Shilo Sanders said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first team to call him after he wasn't selected in the 2025 NFL draft.

"I don't know if y'all know, but the Bucs were the first team to call," the former Colorado safety said on Saturday during the Buccaneers' rookie minicamp. "They gave me a chance before anyone, so I'm forever grateful to the Buccaneers.

"I'm just going to do everything I can to help this team win. Everything in my power to help this team win, that's all I want."

Sanders said he found out about the Buccaneers' interest immediately after the 2025 draft had ended, he left the event livestream he was participating in alongside his brother Shedeur Sanders and father Deion Sanders.

"As I walked down the stairs, my agent called and said, "Bucs are offering you a contract,'" Sanders said. "And I think I did the Dougie for about 15 minutes.

"I'm just so grateful for the opportunity of them giving me this chance when nobody else would at that time."

Sanders signed a one-year, $840,000 million rookie deal with the Bucs, per USA Today's Dan Rorabaugh.

"Like the rest of the safeties, he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said about Sanders after Day 1 of rookie camp, per the AP's Rob Maaddi.

"You can hear him, making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1," Bowles continued, per Maaddi. "There was about three or four of them that did. He was one of them, but you have to make plays in pads.

"That’s what it comes down to — knowing what to do and then doing it consistently and constantly getting better every day.”

Sanders will compete this spring for a roster spot on a secondary led by Antoine Winfield Jr. Tykee Smith, Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather could also be battling for playing time at safety next season.