Fans may want the former Colorado teammates back together in Cleveland, but Shilo remains the biggest roadblock. He has spent more than a year outside the NFL after his Buccaneers stint ended following the Zach Davidson punch and subsequent roster cut. Now he says he is ready, but saying it is one thing. Convincing an NFL team to actually give him another shot is another.

During his September 18 YouTube livestream, a fan asked Shilo about reuniting with Shedeur Sanders and Jimmy Horn Jr.

Shilo did not hesitate. He replied, “Would I go back to the NFL and play with your brother and Jimmy Horn? Of course. I’m ready right now. I’m ready right now. Y’all see it’s puzzles, pieces and pieces coming together. You know what I’m saying? My piece can’t come together right now. I have to wait a little bit, then go put that together.”

Shedeur Sanders had already been in Cleveland since the Browns selected him with the 144th pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after trading picks No. 166 and No. 192 to Seattle to move up. Jimmy Horn Jr. took a much messier route. Carolina drafted him with the 208th pick in the sixth round in 2025, but waived him on September 15, 2026, after he muffed a punt against Chicago and the Panthers needed a roster spot for linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Horn then cleared waivers. Carolina considered bringing him back to its practice squad, but he instead signed with Cleveland’s practice squad on September 18.

Suddenly, two former Colorado teammates were reunited in Cleveland. That made Shilo the obvious missing piece for fans who still remember what the three built together in Boulder.

And that history was not just about sharing a locker room. Against Colorado State in 2023, Shilo Sanders opened the scoring with an 80-yard pick-six and later forced a fumble. Shedeur Sanders went 38-of-47 for 348 yards and four touchdowns, while Jimmy Horn Jr. caught seven passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. With Colorado down late, Shedeur found Horn for a 45-yard score on a 98-yard game-tying drive before the Buffaloes escaped with a 43-35 double-overtime win.

Shilo’s drop from Colorado to the NFL was steep.

In 2024, despite breaking his forearm on the opening drive against Nebraska and missing two full games plus most of a third, he still started 10 games and finished third on Colorado with 67 tackles, including 44 solo, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one forced fumble. He also returned a fumble six yards for a touchdown against Texas Tech.

That changed immediately in Tampa Bay. Shilo went undrafted and entered camp fighting Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom for the fourth and final safety spot. Across three preseason games, he recorded just four solo tackles and one quarterback hit. Then came the finale against Buffalo, where he was flagged for pass interference before being ejected for punching Zach Davidson. Tampa Bay later waived him while cutting its roster to 53 and did not include him on its initial practice squad. At Colorado, he was an established starter.

In Tampa, every preseason snap was an audition, and his margin for error was much smaller.

Still, Shilo’s Tampa stint was not a complete failure. In his preseason debut against Tennessee, he flashed the exact physical style that had defined him at Colorado. His biggest play came on a blitz when he got into the backfield and pressured the quarterback, while Todd Bowles also liked what he saw from him as a tackler and in coverage.

“Shilo played tough. I thought he went in and did a heck of a job,” Bowles said. “He had some good tackles inside and he had a pressure on the quarterback, as well. He did some good coverage things.” At that point, Shilo was still firmly in the fight for a roster spot, competing with Kaevon Merriweather and J.J. Roberts in a crowded safety room.

But Deion Sanders was far less optimistic once Tampa released him. Looking back on the situation, Deion said he told his son, “Pack up all your stuff, dog… It’s over. I’m not one of those fathers to sugarcoat it,” refusing to promise that another opportunity would come.

That kind of ending is not unprecedented either.

Earl Thomas was a seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro and Super Bowl champion when Baltimore released him in 2020 after he punched teammate Chuck Clark during practice. The punch was not his only issue, with missed meetings and previous clashes already hanging over his Ravens tenure. Houston later brought him in, had him take a physical and was reportedly considering a deal, but backed away amid fit concerns. Thomas tried to revive his career again in 2022, saying he was “ready,” but no team signed him and he never played another NFL game.

So Shilo may see Cleveland as the place where the final piece could eventually fit. But after more than a year outside the NFL, his comeback will depend on whether a team sees enough value to give him another chance, not simply whether the Colorado reunion makes sense on paper.