T. J. Sanders
American football player (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tanaeri J. Sanders (born July 30, 2003) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft.
| No. 98 – Buffalo Bills | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | July 30, 2003 | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 297 lb (135 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Marion (SC) | ||||||||
| College | South Carolina (2021–2024) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 2nd round, 41st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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Early life
Sanders attended Marion High School in Marion, South Carolina.[1] He committed to the University of South Carolina to play college football.[2][3]
College career
In his first year at South Carolina in 2021, Sanders played in two games and redshirted.[4] As a redshirt freshman in 2022, he played in 12 games and had 16 tackles and one sack. As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, he started seven of 12 games, recording 43 tackles and 4.5 sacks.[5] Sanders returned to South Carolina for his redshirt junior season in 2024.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 297 lb (135 kg) | 33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 6 ft 8+7⁄8 in (2.05 m) | 4.99 s | 1.67 s | 2.87 s | 4.67 s | 7.70 s | 31.5 in (0.80 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[6][7] | ||||||||||||
Sanders was selected in the second round with the 41st overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.[8][9] On October 11, 2025, Sanders was placed on injured reserve due to a knee surgery that was required after Week 4.[10] On November 15, Sanders was activated ahead of the team's Week 11 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[11]