Speaking to the media after the first day of OTAs, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles offered an intriguing update on his defensive strategy for 2025, particularly concerning the secondary.
It was widely assumed that Tykee Smith would transition to safety full-time, which seemed to pave the way for rookie third-round pick Jacob Parrish to become the front-runner for the nickel corner role. Under that assumption, undrafted safety Shilo Sanders was viewed as a depth piece, expected to make his mark primarily on special teams.
But Bowles’ recent comments seemingly open the door for an even bigger role than expected for Sanders in 2025.
“He’s a safety but he’s always a nickel,” Bowles clarified when asked about Smith’s role. “So depending on the game, he gives us a variety to do different things. And, you know, we’ll see how it goes. He’s playing safety now but he’s taking reps at nickel, as well.”
With Smith set to retain some of his nickel snaps, Sanders has a legitimate chance to slide in at safety in relief.
Sanders is presumably battling Kaevon Merriweather and Marcus Banks for the backup strong safety spot behind Smith. And with a strong offseason, there’s no reason he can’t leapfrog the names in front of him on the depth chart and carve out a bigger role in a relatively thin safety room.
In his six college seasons, Sanders totaled 184 tackles, six forced fumbles, and six interceptions for South Carolina, Jackson State, and Colorado. His main issue has been availability. He played just seven games in 2022 before suffering an ACL injury, and he missed three games last season with a broken forearm.
In an appearance just on SiriusXM radio just hours after the NFL Draft [per JoeBucsFan](https://www.joebucsfan.com/2025/04/todd-bowles-addresses-shilo-sanders-signing/), Bowles raved about Sanders, specifically his tackling ability and football IQ.
“I think he’s a good football player,” Bowles said. “He’s a heck of a tackler and he knows the game very well; he can see the game very well. So giving him a chance to play, we think he has a shot to help us from a safety standpoint and from a special teams standpoint. So I’m excited to get him in here and see how he moves. I saw him tackle all year. I saw him make plays. He’s a very smart player and he understands the game very well. So we thought it was worth a shot to see what he can do. And I think he’ll show himself well.”
Along with his brother Shedeur, Shilo has emerged as one of the most prominent rookie storylines across the NFL. If he stays healthy and keeps building on his strong first impression in Tampa Bay, [he’s well on his way to earning a spot on the 53-man roster.](https://thepewterplank.com/shilo-sanders-is-already-making-it-hard-for-buccaneers-to-keep-him-off-the-roster)
**More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors**