Shilo Sanders waived by Tampa Bay Buccaneers after ejection for throwing punches in preseason game
Shilo Sanders is being waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the morning after he was ejected from a preseason game for throwing punches at Buffalo Bills tight end Zach Davidson.
Sanders, the son of Deion and brother of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur, is now reliant on a team coming to his rescue after his moment of madness on Saturday night.
But the safety, 25, needs help when organizations are actually focusing on cutting their numbers. The 90-man rosters at every team need to be reduced to 53 by Tuesday ahead of the start of the 2025 season.
‘We’re hoping he gets claimed on waivers,’ his agent Robert Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPN.
Sanders, an undrafted free agent when the Bucs gave him a shot, had featured in all three of the team’s preseason games as he fought for a place on the main roster.
But Bucs head coach Todd Bowles made it crystal clear how disappointed he was in Sanders after the game.
Shilo Sanders throws a punch at Bills tight end Zach Davidson while playing for the Bucs
Davidson quickly pointed out that he had been punched, and Sanders was ejected
Sanders had become a fans’ favorite in Tampa Bay, but could miss out on the final roster
‘You can’t throw punches in this league,’ Bowles said. ‘That’s inexcusable. They’re going to get you every time. Gotta grow from that.’
The incident on Saturday night occurred when Davidson appeared to try and rough Sanders up away from the play, pushing him back towards the end zone.
Sanders retaliated and the pair pushed each other in the face, before breaking away from each other.
The Bucs rookie’s red mist then descended as he threw a wild punch at his Bills opponent right in front of a referee, who quickly threw a flag and ejected him from the game.
His now former teammate, Bucs linebacker John Bullock, tried to get Sanders to stop and cool off but was unsuccesful.
It marks more controversy for the Sanders family, with huge scrutiny on Shilo’s younger brother Shedeur ever since he slid down to the fifth round in the draft earlier this year.
For the most part, the quarterback had made a promising case for himself since joining up with his team at camp in Cleveland. But he too had a difficult appearance in the final round of preseason games this weekend.
After coming on in the second half, he completed just three of his six throws for a total of 14 yards and was sacked a remarkable five times, for a loss of 41 yards.
Tampa start the season in two weeks, on the road against Atlanta Falcons, while the Browns play Joe Burrow and the Cincinnatti Bengals.
