Sportsnaut
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut ties with undrafted free agent Shilo Sanders a week ago, opting not to keep Deion Sanders’ son on an NFL roster heading into the regular season. Now, as Sanders waits for another opportunity, he’s been fined by the National Football League.
As reported by Pro Football Talk, the league office fined Sanders $4,669 for throwing a punch in his last game against the Buffalo Bills. Tampa Bay released the rookie defensive back just hours after he threw a punch at Bills’ tight end Zach Davidson.
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The 25-year-old already faced long odds of making the Buccaneers’ roster heading into the summer. Tampa Bay gave him a chance after he went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, following a relatively quiet two-year stint with the Colorado Buffaloes.
Shilo Sanders, the eldest son of Deion Sanders, played for three different college programs — South Carolina (2019–20), Jackson State (2021–22), and Colorado (2023–24). While he earned second-team All-SWAC honors in 2021 with Jackson State, he did not receive all-conference honors as a starter at Colorado.
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In the post-game press conference following the preseason finale, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles called Sanders’ actions inexcusable. The team wasted little time moving on from him, cutting him more than 48 hours before the NFL’s roster cut deadline.
Since his release, 17 players have been signed to the Buccaneers’ practice squad with rookie safety Jack Henderson among them. None of the 31 other NFL franchises have signed Sanders to their practice squad, considering his age as a rookie, it could suggest that any hopes for an NFL career might be over.
As for Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round pick has entrenched himself as the Cleveland Browns third-string quarterback and is expected to start multiple games later this season.
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