Two Bubble Players Have Bad Nights In Backup Bowl
August 24th, 2025
Bad exit.
Two guys who likely needed a good game Saturday instead had memorable evenings, and not for good reasons.
Safety Shilo Sanders and receiver Kameron Johnson likely needed strong outings to make the Bucs’ final 53-man roster and /or perhaps a practice squad shot. That didn’t happen.
Sanders looked to Joe to have gotten the shaft, though he was not an innocent party.
In the first half, Buffalo backup tight end Zach Davidson was blocking Sanders and was way too aggressive and probably too handsy. Davidson drove Sanders a good 10 yards downfield and was still jabbing him after the play was over.
It appeared Davidson also got away with a hand to Sanders’ face.
All Sanders had to do was step away. He chose to take a swing at Davidson. Not smart, and that saddens Joe because Sanders seems like a smart player.
Naturally, an official noticed the swing and not what provoked it. Davidson was clearly the provocateur. Sanders, as a result, was ejected. He was gone early from the postgame locker room, which is not typical for him.
So Sanders’ last shot to try to make the Bucs, even as a practice squad guy, was largely lost.
When it came to Johnson, he simply dropped his Bucs career. Literally.
In the first half on the same drive, Johnson dropped two well-placed passes by Kyle Trask; one would have been a touchdown. Johnson, who was likely on the outside looking in for a roster spot, quite possibly saw his Bucs days slide through his hands.
Buccaneers rookie DB Shilo Sanders was ejected for throwing a punch at Bills TE Zach Davidson. pic.twitter.com/OY7vSA8u3x
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 24, 2025
August 24th, 2025 at 12:13 am
Think maybe Shilo can be brought back to the practice squad at some point. What the TE did was basically stick his hand under Shilo’s face mask trying to injure him. The ref was a total moron for not seeing it and calling it. Kameron, not so much, he is long gone. Too much talent at WR.
August 24th, 2025 at 12:16 am
It’s pretty concerning the lack of WR depth behind Shepherd and Tez Johnson. I didn’t see Ryan Miller or Garrett Greene show up tonight either. At least we know Tez can catch and make plays.
August 24th, 2025 at 12:21 am
You didn’t see Greene’s great TD catch at the end of the game??
August 24th, 2025 at 12:22 am
Such bs. Davidson made it confrontational and Sanders responded after being provoked. At the very least both should have been tossed but in that situation the dirty player who starts it should be the first to go unless there is a different standard out there…
August 24th, 2025 at 12:36 am
Willing to bet Ryan Miller makes the team.
Garrett Green caught a late touchdown.
Thinking Garrett Green makes the practice squad mainly because he can be the scout team/emergency quarterback.
August 24th, 2025 at 12:52 am
I sure hope Deion doesn’t spin this somehow but if you listen closely you can hear him crying fowl from Colorado. Interesting how JL will spin this or the TURK.
August 24th, 2025 at 12:56 am
Kam Johnson had a few drops, but he had one good catch
He also made some nice returns in PR and KR
I believe Kam Johnson make this roster
He can play WR, return punts, and kicks
Also he can be the Gunner on punt coverage
August 24th, 2025 at 1:07 am
Sanders and Kam Johnson both likely get invited back for the practice squad.
The punch was an unfortunate reaction by Sanders – even though he just took a shot to the face and the dude was all over him – its always the 2nd guy who gets ‘caught’ – and Shilo should know that….
Seriously doubt that play has any bearing on whether the Bucs keep him around or not….
August 24th, 2025 at 1:09 am
Joe made an excellent point about Garrett Greene, the kid was a scrambling qb West Virginia and had a pretty good 2023 season though the same could not be said in 2024. Maybe the kid can run the scout team and he could be used in some sort of wildcat package.
August 24th, 2025 at 1:46 am
Tez Johnson did what he was supposed to do last night and make it hard for the Bucs to cut him….while Sanders made it easier
August 24th, 2025 at 2:22 am
The referee was literally right behind Shilo Sanders watching the entire exchange. He basically ran up closer to throw the flag at sanders
August 24th, 2025 at 4:51 am
I feel Shilo got the shaft. Davidson was pushing and shoving as well as a penalty face mask. His fingers were way up in Shllo’s face. If the NFL is trying to make a point, not only one player was at fault. Davidson should have been thrown out. Disappointed in how the Bills players acted on the sidelines too. The refs again not making good calls and it’s early.
It’s a preseason game and yes Shilo should have controlled his emotions better. That can be guided and learned. Hope they keep him. Especially when so many others are going after him to fail.
August 24th, 2025 at 4:56 am
Enough with Cam Johnson. His lone appearence in the regular season was a dropped bunny in the endzone. Besides that, he can’t stay healthy. Sanders went undrafted for a reason. If his name wasn’t Sanders, he wouldn’t even have gotton a tryout. It wasn’t just those two though. Jackson, Bullock, every player in the secondary. Ramirez, Klein did better at guard, but good lord he’s not a center. Watts, there were more than two who didn’t help themselves. Let’s not forget Braswell, who again couldn’t get a sack against scrubs, bust! Better sign Za Daius Alexander like today.
August 24th, 2025 at 6:11 am
Sanders was not very good at Colorado. He was not drafted for a reason. The Bucs are not in a position to care about your last name.They need people who can play at a high level. Sanders is just not that guy. If he was not a Sanders he would be one of the first cuts and go unnoticed. This is not a popularity/reality show competition.Let’s focus on the guys who are going to win games.
August 24th, 2025 at 6:13 am
Looked at that Sanders replay 5 times. I’m sure he regrets losing his temper. But what he really oughta regret is that play is on film and now that clip is magnified.
The TE blocking him totally owned him and stuffed him back into his own end zone! That he hadn’t disengaged from that block showed his total ineptitude on that play at least. The TE kind of lost his balance because he had whipped him so badly. Sanders had tackling issues throughout the preseason not to mention he couldn’t cover anybody. Not even close to a pro football player. Alot of high school safeties alot better player than he is. At least this TE that he punched won’t sue him into bankruptcy.
August 24th, 2025 at 6:27 am
Sanders just isn’t good enough. Mickey D’s is hiring
August 24th, 2025 at 8:25 am
The RB Williams had a BIG night both carrying the ball and returning kickoffs. Would not surprise me if Bucs traded White for a round 5 pick.
August 24th, 2025 at 8:35 am
If you’re a blocker then your directive is to go to the whistle and maybe a little past the whistle. Should he have NOT been aggressive? Or are we going to make excuses for shill like the weirdo low IQs are making excuses for Shedeur this morning
August 24th, 2025 at 8:50 am
The Shilo punch is irrelevant. He was out of position or took very bad angles all night long (albeit a short night) just like last week. He is nowhere close to NFL ready at this point.
August 24th, 2025 at 8:53 am
Kam Johnson never had any shot of making the final 53. Practically the entire bubble list can return punts and kicks. He’ll be on the practice squad in case the Bucs need him in an extreme emergency.
August 24th, 2025 at 9:17 am
Bye bye to both.
August 24th, 2025 at 9:50 am
keep josh williams he’s obviously good at everything. to make room, use White as WR part-time and RB2 part-time. could help his overall value for his next team he’d prolly dig it. with evans godwin egbuka JMac shep miller greene you got a solid seven, but with godwin and JMac on the shelf he’ll get early reps to see if it’s gonna work. keep trask if TB agrees to a total-freedom PS assignment. he can still start for baker if injured, but if injury is in-game we go to trask. late in the season, we’ll know which guy is the real QB2 when it matters way more. with green active, you have emergency third qb on gameday. keep wisdom he’s versatile and fundamentally solid. announcers said he applied crash course on nickel from bowles with ease. sign a 300-pounder for both lines, need more size depth.
August 24th, 2025 at 10:42 am
Trey,
You didn’t see Green make that endzone catch with the feet tap? That was an awesome catch, especially considering that the guy who caught it was a QB a few months ago.
I really like Green, he flashed a bit with very little WR experience. I definitely want him in the practice squad
August 24th, 2025 at 11:51 am
The ejection was absurd, especially considering the Bills TE was throwing hands into Sanders’s face right before that.
A flag? Sure, that was expected. But an ejection for that was absurd. The pu$$ification of the NFL continues…
August 24th, 2025 at 12:09 pm
So let me get this right, if Davidson slid his finger under his nose it would have been a taunting penalty, instead he slid his fingers and hand across Sanders face. (NOT TAUNTING?)
August 24th, 2025 at 2:04 pm
Anyhony- you’re part of the problem. You’re welcome to follow both Shedeur and Shilo wherever they go after they’re BOTH cut
August 24th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
@Go: the point went way over your head. The point was about officiating inconsistency. Stop with the hard ass routine.
August 24th, 2025 at 3:56 pm
@Go : Since when did opinions become problems?
August 24th, 2025 at 6:52 pm
False reporting, see what my lawyer says