Buccaneers GM Admits He Didn’t Want Shilo Sanders After Draft But Agent’s Outreach Secures Deal For Coach Prime’s Son

Shilo Sanders knew the reality going into the 2025 NFL Draft. It was going to be tough, but when he saw his younger brother, Shedeur, didn’t get his name called for three days straight, the safety called for professional help. “Dad was our agent, but that hasn’t been working out too good. So today I had to sign with an agent,” Shilo said, and laughed along with his family while live streaming on Twitch on Saturday. But like they say, jokes always carry a grain of truth. Shilo ‘fired’ his father soon enough and hired NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him.

“Welcome to the family,” Drew ‘Shark’ Rosenhaus wrote on X, announcing Rosenhaus Sports Representation had signed the 25-year-old. Considering he maneuvered the pre-draft process and almost the entirety of the draft process without an agent, many wondered if summoning the big-time Miami-based agent is too-little-too-late a move. Truth be told, it was, considering the final pick of Kobee Minor by the New England Patriots at No. 257 overall on Saturday meant Shilo went undrafted. Rosenhaus burned up the phone lines, and the defensive back had a deal as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the table the same day. The latest we have on how that went down is from the Bucs GM, Jason Licht himself.

According to a post on X by Tampa Tones, quoted Bucs GM Jason Licht saying: “After the draft his agent reached out if we would be interested – Todd [Bowles] & I looked at each other nodded & said ya let’s do it. Todd said Coach Prime called him & thanked him for bringing Shilo in and giving him a fair shot.” If it wasn’t for his agent’s call, and considering his pre-draft prospects weren’t promising, Shilo wouldn’t have been an undrafted free agent. HC Todd Bowles has also confirmed the same: “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.” But Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has already fired a warning shot on this.

“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.

Interestingly, in February, when the NFL Players Association distributed a list of new players and agents, Shedeur and Shilo’s names did not appear on it. That confirmed they didn’t have an agent yet, but since the Scouting Combine was days away, it also hinted that they weren’t planning on getting one. The belief that father Deion Sanders would be enough made a lot of sense back then:

• There wouldn’t have been too many things to negotiate about when it came to a rookie contract.
• Shedeur was expected to go in the first or second round.
• Even if Shilo, as expected, would have been a late draft pick, the labor deal would have simplified the process of entry-level contracts.

Months ago, what looked like a prudent decision just doesn’t look the same anymore. Not only did Shedeur fall to the fifth round, but Shilo went undrafted. But in the end, both brothers are now part of different NFL franchises.

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Shilo Sanders’ new Buccaneers journey!

Shilo doesn’t have the stats that scream elite athlete, but he’s got some good stuff going for him, too. Ahead of the Colorado Pro Day, he had been working on his speed and clocked an impressive 4.52 on his first attempt at the 40-yard dash. He even went as far as hiring an external analytics company to track his speed. He has clearly been working on improving his stock as a player, and that shows. The Tampa Bay front office sees that, and that might also be why they gave him a shot.

HC Todd Bowles acknowledged Shilo’s skills in an interview, “I think he’s a good football player – He’s a heck of a tackler and he knows the game very well – So giving him a chance to play, we think he has a shot to help us from safety standpoint and from a special teams standpoint.”

This clarified any circling doubts about the Buccaneers doing a favor to Deion Sanders. Bowles further added, “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… So we thought it was worth a shot to see what he can do. And I think he’ll show himself well.” 

HC Todd Bowles’ comments are a welcome reaction to Shilo’s fans, and they can’t wait to see what he has in store for Tampa Bay’s future.

Watching his little brother’s and his own draft stocks plummet wasn’t easy on Shilo. The Sanders family even took to X to post Bible verses as the drama unfolded. But now, just like Shedeur with the Browns, Shilo Sanders has a chance to prove to everyone that he belongs on the gridiron and on the Buccaneers’ roster. What do you think?