TAMPA, Fla. -- The spotlight has followed Tampa Bay Buccaneers undrafted rookie safety Shilo Sanders since he set foot in Tampa three months ago. Swarms of autograph seekers appear in larger packs for Sanders than even a franchise-record holder like wide receiver Mike Evans.
"Y'all aren't waiting on me, are you? I didn't know y'all was waiting on me," an astonished Sanders said after one particular practice.
He had already attended to one group of autograph and selfie seekers in the south end zone of the practice field but was unaware a second group had formed on the other side.
"Shilo's a good man," said one fan looking on. "They don't even do this for [quarterback Baker Mayfield]."
Fans greet Sanders with handshakes, high-fives and hugs, and they even sing his brother Shedeur Sanders' rap lyrics. One fan asked Sanders to sign his laptop. "This is gonna give you extra cheating powers," Sanders joked.
But Sanders tries to remain humble. He knows he's still fighting to make the 53-man roster. Saturday's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills will be one of his last chances to show the coaches why he should be a part of the team ahead of Tuesday's deadline for final roster cuts.
Still, the fans have embraced the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, and the Bucs have been happy to accommodate the level of interest that Sanders has drawn. Vice president of player engagement Duke Preston and senior director of team operations Tim Jarocki have stayed behind with security to assist Sanders after practices so he could spend time with fans -- even doing on-field sprints with a large group of children.
"This game is a serious business, but it's also entertainment," Sanders told ESPN. (Sanders made this comment prior to Dillon Gabriel's comment about entertainers.) "People have jobs and they say, 'I'm not going to work today. I'm going to come out here and support the Bucs.' So the least I could do is make their experience enjoyable because they help make my experience enjoyable too."
When asked why he thinks fans gravitate toward him, he replied, "This is an underdog story."
"Everyone's seen how everything played out, and it is just relatable," said Sanders, who livestreamed the entire NFL draft without hearing his name called. "People go through things, and you got to fight through it to come out on top. So I feel like a lot of people could relate to me."
Enter Albert "Bucified Bert" Owens. When Owens unexpectedly encountered Sanders, it created quite the viral moment.
"You're gonna be the steal, you're gonna be the steal," Owens shouted excitedly as Sanders embraced him.
"This is the steal, baby! This is the steal! We stole Shilo! I'm telling you, we stole him!" Owens exclaimed. "Can't nobody stop us! Back to back to back to back to back, and we're going to the Super Bowl. Can't nobody stop us! We got Shilo! Shut down! Lock down, baby!"
Owens returned the favor one month later, visiting Sanders at training camp in full getup and cheering wildly.
"I've been looking for you this whole time," Sanders told him. "I've been waiting for you this whole time, Unc."
And just like that, Sanders had deemed Owens family.
"Bucified made my day. Two times," Sanders said. "Bucified's my uncle. He's always bringing the good energy."
Sanders added, "You're a football player and then you're a human being at the end of the day."
On Sanders' first day of practice, he had another special visitor: his father. The elder Sanders coached his son in college at Colorado and Jackson State before that.
"He just wanted to be a good dad and come see me because he's gonna have a long season coaching," Sanders said. "He was proud of me. He said I was hustling, going hard, and he was proud."
"It's a normal day for me," coach Todd Bowles said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a father coming to see his son like all of us would be doing."
Sanders had taken time away from Colorado as he was on medical leave at the time. His visit to Tampa was five days before he revealed his bladder cancer diagnosis -- the latest in a series of health problems.
Even his sons, Shilo and Shedeur, were unaware of just what their dad was dealing with.
"My dad, he didn't really tell us anything about his health or anything really," Sanders said. "
In terms of the Bucs, here's how it's looking for Sanders: Outside their two starters at safety -- Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith -- there's Christian Izien, who has started games at both safety and nickelback and whom Bowles said weeks ago has already made the team. Then with JJ Roberts going to injured reserve with a knee injury, it leaves Sanders, Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom battling for the fourth safety spot.
In his first preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Sanders delivered multiple big hits, including coming off the edge unblocked to put a thumping on quarterback Brandon Allen, which forced an incompletion. In the second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were no splash plays, although he did make two tackles.
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"Merriweather's probably got the most experience because he was here last year and he played the last half of the season. He knows both positions," Bowles said. "Wisdom being on the practice squad last year actually played nickel in the second half because we were down all the corners and he did a heck of a job playing nickel, strong safety and free safety from a knowledgeable standpoint.
"And Shilo's very aggressive, very young, very hungry. He can make plays in the box and we know he can run down and give us 100% on special teams, so this last week is going to be very important for those guys to show up."
Sanders recognizes there is a delicate balance between having that support, and at the same time, believing he and his brother can both chart their own paths the way their father did during his 14 seasons in the NFL.
"We have to grow up and do things on our own," Sanders said. "So that's why I want my dad to come out here, but at the same time, it's time to grow and to figure things out and go through the grind."