After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Shilo Sanders during final roster cuts ahead of the 2025 season, Deion Sanders said he had prepared his kids for every possible outcome life and sports could throw at them. But behind the scenes, after the Buccaneers ejected Shilo from the final preseason game in 2025, Coach Prime sent his eldest son a text message that Sanders recently revealed.

“He said, ‘Well, dawg, it’s over now,” Shilo Sanders recalled after being asked to reveal the message Coach Prime texted him following his final preseason game against the Buffalo Bills in 2025.

Shilo did not get the NFL start he was hoping for. After going undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers signed the safety as an undrafted free agent to a three-year, $2.9 million deal. And while there was early belief that he could eventually complement Todd Bowles’ secondary, things quickly spiraled in the wrong direction for him.

To put that into perspective, Sanders received opportunities throughout Tampa Bay’s preseason slate. But by the final preseason game against Buffalo, the Buccaneers ejected him after he was penalized for unnecessary roughness following a punch thrown at Bills tight end Zach Davidson after a play.

At the time, Bowles publicly called the punch “inexcusable” at the NFL level. Then, only a couple of days later, Tampa Bay waived Sanders during final roster cuts ahead of the 2025 season. As all of that unfolded, Deion Sanders addressed the situation publicly and backed his son through the difficult stretch.

“Oh, most definitely [I’ve talked to him]. 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… 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.”

Just days after his release, the NFL also fined Sanders $4,669 for the punch. And while Deion remained hopeful that another opportunity would eventually arrive, the reality since then has been much tougher for the 26-year-old safety. In fact, Sanders has struggled to land another NFL contract ever since.

And just last month, Shilo openly sounded like someone beginning to lose hope about another chance coming his way. During a video posted to his YouTube channel, Sanders admitted:

“I just be like working out just as a human, but training and stuff, like getting ready, and you have a set day like camp training (nods). It’s like a whole different type of training. But it takes a special kind of guy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I don’t think there’s any light in my tunnel.”

Reports have since suggested Sanders has stepped away from serious NFL-specific training, even though he still works out regularly to stay in shape. And even when friends around him reminded him that a last-minute opportunity could still come through his agent, that possibility did not seem to change his mindset much either.

“Let me tell you something, just because you have got love for the game, don’t mean the game gotta love you back. Remember that, man,” Sanders said with a tough smile on his face.

So, that is where things currently stand for the former Colorado Buffaloes safety. Right now, Shilo remains away from the NFL, and another opportunity in professional football does not exactly seem close.

At the same time, though, he has continued supporting his younger brother, Shedeur Sanders, ahead of his second season with the Cleveland Browns. And when recent doubts surfaced around Shedeur’s QB1 chances in Cleveland, Shilo pushed back at a Browns reporter online, a reaction Deion later publicly supported as well.

Deion Sanders defended his son, Shilo Sanders

While Shilo Sanders has remained away from professional football, his younger brother, Shedeur Sanders, is heading toward his second NFL season with the Browns. However, speculation surrounding whether Shedeur will actually start has continued for months now. And when Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot reported that Deshaun Watson currently holds the edge over Shedeur for the starting role, Shilo publicly fired back at the reporter.

“Go make a sandwich, Mary,” he said.

His comments came after Cabot noted, “I think they should declare him QB1 ASAP and let the first-team offense start to cook. There’s no time to waste. Sanders has about six weeks to close the gap and try to overtake the former three-time Pro Bowler. But he’s got plenty of ground to make up, and will have to dazzle the coaching staff to land atop the depth chart heading into training camp.”

Per reports, Shilo took issue with Cabot offering opinion-based analysis instead of strictly reporting facts. And while his comments toward the longtime Browns reporter quickly drew criticism online, Deion Sanders recently stepped in publicly to defend his eldest son.

“We don’t talk about nobody. We don’t do nothing to nobody. I know Shilo had a little altercation that he spoke up for his brother. You’ve got to understand, man, that’s his brother. And God bless Mary Kay’s soul, that’s his brother. I mean, she said something, he said something, like media is different today. I know a lot of people don’t respect the old school. I do, because I grew up in that era that we didn’t have a say so. … But Shilo spoke up for his brother, and he was ridiculed for that.”

Meanwhile, Shedeur is once again entering another quarterback battle heading into the 2026 season. And while there was earlier belief that the second-year quarterback could take over the starting role, recent reports now suggest Watson has the edge entering camp. That is exactly why this conversation exists in the first place.

That said, while Shilo’s own NFL future currently remains uncertain, Shedeur’s long-term future as Cleveland’s starting quarterback still seems very much up in the air, too.