Buccaneers’ Announcement Cements Them as Haven for Underdogs After Cutting Shilo Sanders

Everything was good until each team announced its final roster. The Bucs’ final cuts said a lot about their organization. The Bucs’ roster cuts were shocking, starting with quarterback Kyle Trask, once hyped as Tom Brady’s successor. Linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. was sidelined all preseason after joining for his leadership, and Desmond Watson was cut after never getting in shape. And then, there’s also Shilo Sanders’ cut, which we’ll come to later. But their roster tells a bigger story about second chances and believing in overlooked talent.

The Bucs didn’t just cut their roster on Tuesday, August 26. They made a statement.  Three undrafted rookies who share a special bond made it among the 53 players. “So not only do the Bucs have three undrafted rookies making the 53, but all three – Nebraska LB John Bullock, LSU RB Josh Williams and Georgia State T Ben Chukwuma — started out as walk-ons in college,” noted FOX Sports’ Greg Auman.

These are the real underdog tales. Players ignored in recruiting and skipped in the draft, but who still clawed their way onto the roster. John Bullock is a prime example: after finally earning a scholarship in 2023, he racked up 70 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and even snagged a pick. He flashed again in the preseason with a 12-yard sack against Pittsburgh. Josh Williams carved out his shot too, with 482 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns, and 31 catches for 263 yards in his last college season. But Benjamin Chukwuma might top them all. He walked into Georgia State without even knowing the rules of football, and ended up with the biggest guaranteed deal of any undrafted free agent this year ($300,000).

The Buccaneers have leaned into stories like these. They’ve carried seven undrafted players onto their 53-man roster—JJ Roberts, Desmond Watson, Will Sheppard, Jake Majors, Ben Scott, Connor Bazelak, and Anthony Landphere—proving that Jason Licht prizes grit and growth over pedigree. In Tampa, if you can work, you can stay.

This is because players like Cameron Brate and Adam Humphries, who started as undrafted free agents, have contributed big in recent years, so the franchise can develop that talent into NFL contributors. Now, while the Bucs provided a platform for these underdogs, it was not the same fate in the case of Shilo Sanders, just because of a small incident that made headlines since the Bucs vs. Bills game.

The reason for Shilo Sanders’s cut from the Bucs’ roster

While Tampa Bay celebrated its walk-on success stories, Shilo Sanders had a far different weekend. The undrafted safety’s preseason ended abruptly when he was ejected for throwing a punch at Bills tight end Zach Davidson after being driven 20 yards downfield well past the whistle, with Davidson’s fingers caught in his facemask during the tussle. Irritated and taunted, Sanders snapped and swung, drawing an immediate flag before Davidson mockingly gestured that he was “too small.” The Bills capitalized with an 11-yard touchdown on the very next drive to go up 14-3, and though the incident may not have been the sole reason for Sanders’ release, it likely served as a catalyst for the roster decision.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles wasn’t mincing words about the ejection when he said, “You can’t throw punches in this league. That’s inexcusable. They’re going to get you every time. You’ve got to grow from that.” The team waived Shilo Sanders the next day, before the regular season even started. Moreover, he might face some serious punishment from the NFL due to his actions.

Despite the bad outcome, Deion Sanders was proud of his son at Colorado. The Hall of Fame cornerback said his role as a father goes beyond football success. “He’s my son, I’m proud of my kids, all of them. And I prepared my kids for any and everything that could possibly happen in life and in sports. That’s part of fathering, that’s part of parenting, that’s part of having a relationship. So he is mentally where he needs to be, physically where he needs to be. We’re praying that he gets another opportunity to go with a team, but if he doesn’t, the plans have already been put forward to what he’s going to do next,” he added in a recent interview soon after the roster cut announcement.

Coach Prime called Shilo Sanders “a man of many talents” who will be fine no matter what happens with football. That’s the Sanders family brand: being able to bounce back from setbacks stronger than before. Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey are still hopeful he’ll get another shot in the NFL. They hope another team will claim him off waivers.

The contrast between these two tales, three walk-ons living their dreams and one golden talent facing an uncertain destiny, is the NFL in a nutshell. Regardless of whether Shilo Sanders receives a second chance or not, the moral of Bullock, Williams, and Chukwuma is clear: in Tampa Bay, your past is irrelevant if you don’t fight for your position.