The Pittsburgh Steelers recently reduced their roster to 53 players ahead of the deadline. To the surprise of many, they kept just three safeties on their initial roster. It was later reported that the Steelers were bringing back veteran Chuck Clark to the roster as rookie Donte Kent landed on IR with a designation to return. But their lack of interest in Shilo Sanders is telling.
General manager Omar Khan had every opportunity to take a stab at the second-generation Sanders brothers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders are the sons of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders and were standouts on Colorado's football team over the past two seasons.
Now, Shedeur is barely hanging on as a third-string quarterback of the Cleveland Browns while Shilo is out of a job.
Ahead of the NFL roster deadline, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut bait with Sanders before his rookie season even had a chance to take off.
The Pittsburgh Steelers want no part of safety Shilo Sanders
The Steelers had an opportunity to take Shilo Sanders at any point in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they passed on the polarizing safety. After he was released, Khan could have placed a waiver claim for Sanders, but he didn't.
This tells you everything you need to know about how Pittsburgh feels about him. The irony is that the Steelers expressed interest in Sanders just weeks before the draft.
Pittsburgh traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins before training camp. On paper, safety is one of the weakest positions on the team. Outside of DeShon Elliott, who had a great 2024 season, Juan Thornhill is a wild card who struggled with the Browns over the past two years. Miles Killebrew has no business seeing the field for anything but special teams.
Sanders would have had to work his way up the ladder, and keeping his roster spot would not have been guaranteed. However, the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't bat an eye after his release, despite their concerning safety room, shows you that Shilo Sanders never stood a chance with this team.