Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was not happy with cornerback Jamel Dean’s game last year. The coach recalled a funny story regarding the struggle on WFLA. Shilo Sanders, who was released by the Buccaneers last year and has pretty much hung up his cleats, saw his shot.

“Dean messed up the corner blitz so much that I literally told him in practice, ‘Whenever I call this to the boundary, you go to the field from the other corner over the side. I said, You will never, ever,'” Bowles said, laughing. “And then, his last year here, he ended up getting a sack, and I was laughing so hard. It was like the biggest moment of his life. … It took me six years to get him to get that right.”

“I’ll blitz coach 😁” Sanders wrote in the comments.

Sanders already knows what it is like to be around Tampa Bay’s defense. The former safety joined the Buccaneers after going undrafted in 2025 and worked relentlessly to make the squad. He knew every rep and snap mattered, as his odds of having an NFL career were low. He’d also earned Bowles’ praise in camp, who said Sanders had a “hunger” in him, and was “very aggressive.”

Unfortunately, his time with Tampa Bay was over almost as quickly as it began. During the Bucs’ third preseason game, he got into a scuffle with tight end Zach Davidson. Sanders threw a punch during the incident, which led to his ejection from the game. Bowles was disappointed.

“You can’t throw punches in this league — that’s inexcusable,” the head coach said, via ESPN. “They’re going to get you every time. You’ve got to grow from that.”

That was the end for Shilo Sanders in the NFL. This year, he seemed to have accepted the fact, saying that he “[doesn’t] think there’s any light in my tunnel.”

Sanders said on his livestream that the end of his football career was a “blessing,” because he feared a journey like that of former Pittsburgh Steelers star Antonio Brown, who is easily one of the most hated players in NFL history. Forget Shilo, no player would want to end up where Brown is today.

“He be tweaking,” Sanders said.

Brown had developed into an unlikeable figure in the Steelers locker room, and eventually moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had a dramatic stint there too, infamously walking out mid-game playing the New York Jets, taking off his jersey in the process. Former Bucs head coach said right afterwards, “He is no longer a Buc.”

Today, Brown still makes headlines for badmouthing other players.

Since his release, Shilo Sanders has pivoted his public focus almost entirely away from football, leaning into music and social media instead. He released a 15-track hip-hop album titled “Hate 2 Love” on January 1 and has said he’s stopped training for a return to the sport altogether, framing his path forward as something closer to entertainment than athletics.

“I’ve always done that my whole life playing football with music, acting, and modeling,” he said. “I truly believe God has a big plan for me.”

Sanders also has a serious legal matter occupying his attention right now. He appeared in court over a bankruptcy case tied to a lawsuit filed by John Darjean, a former security guard at his high school who accused Sanders of assault. A court previously ruled in Darjean’s favor, awarding him $11.89 million in damages. Sanders, in turn, filed for bankruptcy in 2023.

For now, his Buccaneers comment looks more like a joke than a serious push for another opportunity. But after calling the end of his NFL career a blessing just days ago, Sanders clearly isn’t opposed to having a little fun with the idea of getting back on the field.