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Former Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders has seemingly made a strong first impression on his new Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates.
The recent undrafted free agent signee must ultimately earn the respect of coach Todd Bowles if he wants to land a 53-man roster spot, but Sanders has caught the attention of fellow Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Following an OTA practice on Tuesday, Winfield was asked to share his early thoughts on Sanders.
"He plays hard," Winfield said, per River Wells of Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI. "He works hard, he really wants to learn, and he just wants to improve his game. That's something that you admire from somebody coming in who wants to learn and actually play this game."
Winfield, the son of three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr., was also asked about relating to Sanders in having a father who enjoyed NFL success. Sanders is the second-oldest son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders.
"I'm sure he understands it, I'm sure he grew up with it, same with myself," Winfield Jr. said. "But he's a great kid, works tremendously hard, and I can't say enough about him."
Winfield Jr.'s endorsement carries significant weight as the former second-round pick was a Pro Bowler in 2021 and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2023. Last year, Winfield Jr. played in only nine regular season games while battling injuries but still recorded 60 total tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery and three passes defended.
Soon after landing with the Buccaneers, Shilo Sanders connected with Winfield Jr. and received some advice from the veteran entering his first NFL summer.
Shilo Sanders — who started off his presser by shaking every media member’s hand — talks about his first day at rookie minicamp and taking advice from Antoine Winfield Jr. pic.twitter.com/iyPRTbW4Xo
— River Wells (@riverhwells) May 10, 2025
"I tried to get down here early so I could connect with some guys on the team already, like Antoine," Sanders said. "He helped me a lot, getting me with certain coaches that I needed to talk to and learn extra. I'm happy for this opportunity. I'm just grateful and want to prepare myself the best I can for this rookie minicamp."
While his last name certainly draws ample attention, Sanders has handled his early days in the NFL with great professionalism and a desire to learn, as Winfield Jr. disclosed. Still, the rookie must stay on course and impress during the preseason to land a final roster spot.
"Like the rest of the safeties, he's very intelligent, he's very loud," Bowles said during rookie minicamp, per the Buccaneers' team YouTube channel. "You can hear him today, making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things on Day 1. There was about three or four of them that did. He was one of them, but you have to make plays in pads. That's what it comes down to — knowing what to do and then doing it consistently and constantly getting better every day."
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