There are those who considered Will Sheppard a candidate to make a bid toward the Tampa Bay Buccaneers final 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
But in fact, he won’t even make the Bucs’ 90-man roster.<\/p>\n
Sheppard, a UDFA from Colorado, remains unsigned now after reportedly failing his physical.<\/p>\n
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Sheppard played his final college season at Colorado after transferring from Vanderbilt. .. after having been a starter in both programs.<\/p>\n
Over the course of his time with the Commodores and the Buffaloes he ended up with 200 receptions for 2,688 yards and 27 TDs. … good enough to get him an NFL look.<\/p>\n
During the 2024 season, Sheppard played a major role for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs as he served as one of the go-to receiver for quarterback Shedeur Sanders.<\/p>\n
Travis Hunter was of course on top of that depth chart.<\/p>\n
But Sheppard pitched in, too, with 621 yards and six touchdowns. … enough to cause “Coach Prime” to attempt to boost his profile as the school’s “Showcase” Pro Day.<\/p>\n
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“He\u2019s a big-time receiver,” Deion said. “A 50-50 ball, he\u2019s going to get that more times than not. And I just love his character and what he brings to the table, what he brings to the practice field, day in and day out.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s a tremendous asset.”<\/p>\n
That may be. But the Bucs – loaded up at receiver now with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin,\u00a0Jalen McMillan and now rookie Emeka Egbuka – are saying goodbye as Sheppard looks for a shot somewhere other than Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n