Bills’ Vontae Davis Explains Halftime Retirement, ‘I Shouldn’t Be Out There’
For the first time in NFL history, Buffalo Bills’ cornerback Vontae Davis called it a career and retired at halftime. With the Bills looking like the worst team in the NFL, per CBS Sports, this sudden change to the team’s roster is unlikely to make things better.
On Sunday, September 9, the Ravens dominated the game and slaughtered the Bills with a final score of 47 to 3. Despite the Los Angeles Chargers losing their running back Melvin Gordon to an injury during the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game, they also managed to pull out a win against the Bills with a score of 31 to 20.
While the Inquisitr has previously reported Davis’ decision to quit the team mid-game and touched base on just how difficult this season was going to be moving forward for the Buffalo Bills, Davis had yet to make a statement regarding his decision. The NFL has since shared the former CB’s official statement about his retirement.
Vontae introduced his official statement by explaining that he never imagined ending his NFL career in such a manner. “This isn’t how I pictured retiring from the NFL,” Davis explained.
After several surgeries and pushing through the pain of multiple injuries to continue to play for his team, Vontae admitted to suddenly being hit with the reality of not belonging on the playing field anymore.
“Today on the field it really hit me fast and hard: I shouldn’t be out there anymore,” the newly-retired NFL player added.
Vontae took the time to apologize to both his coaches and his teammates as he didn’t mean to disrespect him with his abrupt decision to quit.
“I meant no disrespect to my teammates and my coaches. But I hold myself to a standard. Mentally, I always expect myself to play at a high level. But physically, I know that isn’t possible, and I had an honest moment with myself. While I was on the field, I just didn’t feel right, and I told the coaches, ‘I’m not feeling like myself.'”
According to Davis, he reached a point while he was on the playing field where he asked himself if he wanted to continue sacrificing himself for the game.
Incredible.https://t.co/tg6lNwBqOq
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 16, 2018
Davis continued to explain he wanted to be able to walk away from the game and live a healthy life with his family.
“It’s more important for me and my family to walk away healthy than to willfully embrace the warrior mentality and limp away too late.”
Toward the end of his statement, Vontae admitted that while it was an “overwhelming decision,” it was a decision he was at peace with.
Official statement from CB @vontaedavis. pic.twitter.com/8WXszhnrUo
— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2018
He concluded by thanking God for granting him the opportunity to play for the NFL and all the lifelong friendships he has been able to make during his football career.
