For NFL fans, the first preseason game of the year is pretty low-stakes. Really, it's just nice to see their team back in action after months of rumors, free agency, coaching changes, etc. For star players, it's pretty low stakes, too. Low enough that most of them don't even play. But for undrafted free agents like Shilo Sanders of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's not a stretch to say the first preseason game of the year is a pretty important job interview.
Sanders is certainly one of the more prominent UDFA in this year's class... or any class. The son of his former head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, and brother of Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur, Shilo had far less fanfare than his brother heading into training camp, but impressed the Bucs' coaching staff early on in offseason workouts.
Granted, there's a pretty big difference between impressing a coaching staff early in the summer and actually earning a spot on the roster. Head coach Todd Bowles was complimentary, albeit noncommittal, about Sanders' play and his potential future with the team. Via NFL.com:
"He's coming along. He's getting the scheme down. He's made plays like everybody else back there. There are a few tests that come up during the preseason -- Tuesday night was one, and the other three preseason games and practices will be others. He's got a chance to make it."
That's not necessarily a rave review, but it's also a fair one from a coach who definitely is still evaluating exactly what Sanders and other UDFA could bring to the Bucs roster.
Sanders tries to latch on to Bucs roster after long college career
It was an impressive college career too, but long still might be the appropriate adjective here. Sanders started his college career at South Carolina in 2019 and finished it six years and two schools later at Colorado last season. He's a 25 year-old rookie, certainly older than most in his class, but maybe that experience will bode well for him.
There isn't a clear need for Sanders in the Bucs secondary, which features Antoine Winfield Jr. and Christian Izien in the starting safety spots, but that's not how teams usually operate with UDFA. If they're impressive enough in camp to make the team, then that's a win for the scouting department, no matter how much field time they actually see during the regular season.
For the Bucs specifically, who expect to compete in the NFC South (and maybe the NFLC in general), Sanders would be a depth piece in the secondary on a team with high expectations in 2025.