The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just took a $250,000 hit. Earlier this year, they made a clear statement about rookie quarterback Michael Pratt’s future, locking him in with a two-year deal and a big $250k signing bonus. This isn’t exactly common, but it showed just how much faith the team had in his potential. Fast forward, and that gamble has backfired.

On Tuesday, the Bucs pulled the trigger, waiving him with an injury designation to free up space for more pressing needs. The problem? $250,000 gone, with nothing but a gap on the depth chart to show for it. While injuries affected Pratt’s growth, keeping him from making the strides, now another setback has hit.

And just when it feels like that’s the end of the bad news… well, Todd Bowles’ hefty week is only getting started. A report on X dropped the news “#Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is dealing with hamstring tightness.” And the team’s just treading lightly with their All-Pro playmaker. For Tampa, Antoine Winfield Jr. isn’t just another name on the injury list. Winfield’s been the heartbeat of the secondary since he set foot in the league.

He has been the guy Bowles builds his defensive calls around. Sure, 2024 wasn’t kind to him — a foot injury and nagging knee issues kept him to just nine regular-season games — but his value never dipped. In fact, just this June, Bowles went out of his way to praise Winfield’s offseason grind, saying he looked in “great” shape. Well, he was the very bit the leader they needed. That’s what makes this sting even more.

But to simply call Winfield a “free safety” misses the whole picture. The franchise had made him the highest-paid defensive back in league history. Signing him to a four-year, $84.1 million extension with $45 million guaranteed. 122 tackles, six sacks, six forced fumbles, and three interceptions alone in 2023. Replacing him seems nearly impossible. And that’s where the door cracks open for Shilo Sanders. The former Colorado safety who came to Tampa for his NFL future.

Shilo Sanders steps out of the shadow in preseason debut

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie safety Shilo Sanders wasted no time making his presence felt in his NFL preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans. In Tampa’s 29-7 victory, he delivered a textbook blitz from the secondary. Coming in untouched to level Titans quarterback Brandon Allen just after the release, disrupting what could’ve been a key passing play. He also notched a solo tackle and, notably, was never targeted across 23 coverage snaps, reflecting both sound positioning and the respect he commanded from opposing quarterbacks.

Postgame, Sanders kept it light, joking that his game jersey was headed to his mom instead of Deion Sanders. And that his dad would only want it if he had “three picks or something”. Still, his performance was more than a feel-good debut. ESPN’s Jenna Laine summed it up, noting, “Rookie safety Shilo Sanders delivered multiple big hits, including one on Brandon Allen on a blitz.” The Associated Press caught Sanders reflecting on the outing: “It felt good. Thank you, God, for putting me in position to even be on the field. I feel like I left some big hits on the table. Next game will be some improvement on my angles, on my tracking because you don’t really get to work on it in an NFL practice or you’re gonna get kicked out of practice.”

Sanders’ path to this moment wasn’t smooth. Once projected as a potential fifth-round draft pick, he slipped through all seven rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft before the Buccaneers scooped him up as an undrafted free agent. With defensive-minded Head Coach Todd Bowles watching closely, every preseason snap is like a test. Saturday’s outing was a step in the right direction, but to lock down a roster spot. Sanders will have to pair his knack for being in the right place at the right time.