A week after his ejection from an NFL preseason game, Shilo Sanders has been fined $4,669 for unnecessary roughness following an altercation with Buffalo Bills tight end Zach Davidson. The incident, which occurred during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ preseason finale against the Bills, resulted in Sanders being flagged and immediately removed from the game after he punched Davidson in the end zone.
The league escalated the penalty to a fine, which Sanders is now required to pay. According to analysts, this altercation was likely a key factor in the Buccaneers’ decision to release him ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
Sanders addressed his uncertain future in football when speaking with members of the press over the past week. “I’ll be talking to my agent and we’re waiting on the next opportunity,” Sanders said. “If that’s in the NFL, cool, but God has blessed me with a lot of talent to do things other than football. (…) I feel like this is just part of my story to grow and do bigger and better things (…). Whether it’s finding another team, whether it’s getting another opportunity in the NFL, it is what it is. My time being with the Buccaneers has been nothing but great. The city, my teammates, my coaches, everybody has poured in love and support toward me and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”
Tampa Bay represented a second chance for Sanders as he went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. He secured a spot on their roster as an undrafted free agent after changing agents instead of relying on representation by his father. Prior to last week’s incident with Davidson, reports indicated that Sanders had been adjusting well within the team.
With this recent fine and his release from Tampa Bay following what many are calling a rash decision during play, there are questions about whether Sanders will get another opportunity in professional football.
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