For many NFL players, injury becomes the biggest reason to hang up their cleats. But for 26-year-old Shilo Sanders, desperate to get back into the league, injuries have already become a glaring question. It is not, however, because of football, but for a sport he once conquered the icy terrains with as a Burton Culture Shifters alum.

“This s— hurt, I don’t even want to do anymore,” said Shilo in today’s vlog. “Good thing I had a helmet on. I definitely hit my head on something.”

As many Colorado University players do, Shilo Sanders also picked up snowboarding as a hobby. Recently, he visited Breckenridge, Colorado, considered one of the best places in the country for such sports, to rekindle that old thrill. However, the very first outing for him came with a warning.

In a vlog posted on his YouTube channel, Shilo was seen smoothly moving across the icy terrain when he saw some metal pipes placed on the course to act as hurdles. Just then, he was reminded of his 2024 X Games self, where he glided down a raised platform and landed gracefully on the snow. If he did that two years ago, he could do it now. Right? Wrong!

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While his first attempt was successful, another pipe came quickly, and, being him, Shilo couldn’t resist taking another chance. But as he got over the pipe, his board slipped, and he fell face-first on the pipe. Fortunately, he was in his complete safety gear, and the helmet gave enough protection. In fact, Sanders even confirmed, laughing that it wasn’t as bad as it looked on the video.

However, just then, he realized he couldn’t walk without flinching and realized his right knee had a swollen bump.

Returning to his resort, he got a quick medical examination from his childhood friend, Derrick, whose family had also joined Shilo on the adventure.

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety thought he had broken his kneecap from the fall. Much to his relief, Derrick ruled it out as a simple patellar bone bruise. However, the incident did make him realize how his NFL career could’ve ended before even starting, and he called it quits.

Since it was his first day snowboarding in Colorado, he had many plans for the rest of the trip. However, after the violent drop, Sanders mentioned that his next plan was to go home. Interestingly, the sport that could’ve injured him badly today once helped him as a football player.

Shilo Sanders’ snowboarding adventures

It all began when the safety joined his father, Deion Sanders, and younger brother, Shedeur Sanders, on the Colorado Buffaloes football team two years ago. It was a normal hobby for other CU students as well to take up ice sports as an extracurricular activity. But Shilo found a way to work out in snowboarding for every Saturday.

His adventures on the snow didn’t end just there, though. He’s attended the 2024 X Games, he’s friends with professional snowboarder Zeb Powell, and is a Burton Culture Shifters alum. Shilo’s Instagram is also filled with posts of his time on the snow.

Doesn’t it take you back to the time when Deion Sanders claimed that of all his children, Shilo has the most varied resume? Not only has Shilo learned and loved this sport, but snowboarding has also helped him become fast and more balanced.

“Believe it or not, I think snowboarding has actually made me faster. In the spring, I was doing conditioning, finishing first and stuff. But I feel like you balance out your toes and it gets those calves right,” Sanders had said in an interview with the University of Colorado in 2024.

Since it was nothing huge, Shilo is expected to make a complete recovery soon. But the injury could have been a stumbling block in his NFL journey, which remains uncertain ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

Shilo Sanders struggles to find an NFL team ahead of the 2026 season

Despite carrying a golden name with him of the Football Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, the 26-year-old has been in a slump in the NFL.

Of the 32 teams in the league, many require their defense to step up. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars even have their secondary as one of the priorities. However, none require a safety, not immediately and not urgently, at least. For now, it’s a waiting game for him.

He went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, the Bucs called him within 24 hours to give him an opportunity. And he showed he didn’t take it for granted.

In training camps, rookie camp, and the OTAs, Shilo showed why he was the best safety on Deion’s Colorado roster. By preseason, you could’ve sworn he was getting into the final squad. But then came the punch, literally.

Against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale, he punched the Bills’ tight end, Zach Davidson. With no further words, head coach Todd Bowles waived him as a penalty. He did get a chance to work out for the San Francisco 49ers, but they eventually went with another option. Since then, Shilo has been waiting for just one chance to rewrite his short NFL career as a free agent.

The offseason could’ve helped, but there’s even less hope now.