Shilo Sanders thinks he went out swinging. His album cover was a swing and a miss.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety commemorated the punch that got him ejected against the Buffalo Bills last year on the cover of his new rap album.
Sanders' version of events comes with a remix: He's punching the wrong tight end on the album cover.
Sanders actually threw the punch at Zach Davidson. The player on the receiving end on Sanders' album is Dalton Kincaid.
Kincaid wasn't involved in the confrontation.
It's unclear if the photo was modified using AI, Photoshop or Microsoft Paint.
Sanders and Davidson got into a scuffle away from the play during the second quarter of Buffalo's preseason finale against Tampa Bay on Aug. 23, 2025. Davidson continued blocking
Sanders downfield and eventually grabbed Sanders near the left side of his head.
Sanders responded by punching Davidson in the helmet and was immediately flagged and ejected.
"I was just chasing a far-deep DB and trying to finish through the whistle and he had a little bit more to say," Davidson said after the game. "I didn't say anything. I may have gestured something but if you get mad for getting blocked, I can't really control what else he does."
Davidson couldn't control what Sanders did next. Apparently he couldn't control who Sanders remembered doing it to, either.
Davidson, who was not penalized, added insult by making a "too small" gesture toward Sanders after the punch. The 6-foot-7, 251-pound Davidson had a substantial size advantage over the 6-foot, 196-pound Sanders.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles wasn't amused.
"You can't throw punches in this league. I mean, that's inexcusable," Bowles said after the game. "They're gonna get you every time. Gotta grow from that."
Sanders did, in fact, go out swinging.
Tampa Bay waived him three days later during final roster cuts. He went unclaimed and never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
Davidson didn't make the Bills' roster, either. He spent most of three seasons on Buffalo's practice squad and appeared in two games in 2024 before being released the same day as Sanders.
#Bucs DB Shilo Sanders has been ejected following this punch:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 24, 2025
pic.twitter.com/GSC6IYHQa7
Evidently, punching Buffalo's former practice-squad tight end didn't have the same album-cover appeal as punching its former first-round pick.
The Bills selected Kincaid in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He caught 73 passes as a rookie, setting the franchise record for receptions by a rookie. Kincaid has 156 receptions for 1,692 yards and nine touchdowns over three seasons.
Why Kincaid replaced Davidson on Sanders' album cover hasn't been explained.
Kincaid wears No. 86. Davidson wore No. 84. Somewhere between Tampa and the recording studio, those two numbers — and their faces — got switched.
Davidson got punched. Kincaid got the album credit.
Football fans noticed, and the altered image quickly drew attention on social media after Sanders promoted the album.
Sanders, 26, announced earlier this year that he had stopped training for football and moved on from his NFL aspirations.
His new album includes appearances from some of Sanders' famous family. His father, Colorado football coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, appears on "Beat the Odds," while younger brother and Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is featured on "Bow Wow."
But the Bills provided the inspiration for Track 1.
Just not the Bills player Sanders actually punched.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Shilo Sanders punched a Bills TE. Then he put a different one on his rap album cover
