Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie safety Shilo Sanders played in his first NFL preseason game Saturday night against the Tennessee Titans. He wanted to give his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer and University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, a gift to commemorate the occasion, but Deion declined to accept it.
ESPN Buccaneers reporter Jenna Laine posted a video of Sanders on social media in which he explained how he wanted to give his dad the game jersey he wore and his father’s reaction to the idea.
“He didn’t want it,” Sanders said. “He’s a Hall of Famer. He expects 30 times more. He didn’t want that jersey. I’m going to give it to my mom, though...I have to get something like three picks.”
Sanders finished the game with a tackle and a quarterback hit. As an undrafted free agent, Sanders is trying to make a name for himself and prove to the Buccaneers that he deserves a spot on the active roster. When assessing his performance, Sanders said he still had work to do but was confident he would improve with more playing time.
“I left some big hits on the table, so for the next game, there will most likely be improvements on my angles and my tracking because you don’t really get to work on it in NFL practices or you’re going to get kicked out of practice,” Sanders said. “Just seeing the game today for the first time in a long time, I have a lot to work on. I did some good things. It is what it is.”
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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