NFL Pro Bowler Vontae Davis Went Viral for His Controversial Mid-Game Retirement in 2018
“I’ve never seen anything else like that during my nine years of enjoying. For him to hand over like that is unexplainable. You don’t quit in your teammates."
By Jamie LernerApr. 2 2024, Published 9:38 a.m. ET
At the beginning of the NFL's 2018–2019 season, everyone was excited to see how cornerback Vontae Davis could turn around the Buffalo Bills with a $5 million one-year contract. But halfway through Game 2, he seemingly retired out of nowhere. Now in 2024, Vontae was found dead in his South Florida residence at just 35 years old.
A storied career of nearly a decade between getting drafted by the Miami Dolphins, being traded to the Indianapolis Colts in a public humiliation on HBO’s Hard Knocks, retiring inexplicably in the middle of a game, and now passing away at such a young age, Vontae elicits a wide range of emotions from NFL fans. But why did he retire in 2018?
Vontae Davis retired from the NFL because he no longer felt like himself.
When Vontae retired in the middle of a Bills-Chargers game when his team was down 28-6, his teammates and fans were understandably furious. According to an ESPN retrospective one year after his retirement, “Commentators and sportswriters questioned Vontae Davis' mental health and made jokes on social media and talk shows.”
At the time, Vontae’s teammate safety Rafael Bush told the Democrat and Chronicle, “I’ve never seen anything like that in my nine years of playing. We’re undermanned already with Phillip’s injury at the end of the half so we’re already down a man. For him to quit like that is unexplainable. You don’t quit on your teammates like that. I’m just at a loss for words.”
While Vontae expected one of the vital vitriol and mocking, he didn’t need to let down his teammates. In a remark by way of NFL, Vontae explained his decision to leave. He said, "This is not how I pictured retiring from the NFL. But in my 10th NFL season, I've been doing what my body has been programmed to do: Get in a position to play on recreation day. I've continued multiple surgical procedures and played thru many alternative accidents right through my career and, over the previous few weeks, this was the latest physical challenge."
“But today on the field, reality hit me fast and hard: I shouldn't be out there anymore. I meant no disrespect to my teammates and coaches. But I hold myself to a standard. Mentally, I always expect myself to play at a high level. But physically, I know today 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.’”
Vontae Davis later said that his retirement was “one of the best decisions” in his life.
Vontae realized that his time playing football was up. Maybe it would have been a better appearance for him after the fact to at least wait until the end of the game, but sometimes, when you feel something in your body, you can’t ignore that feeling. Vontae had already started dedicating himself to a wellness journey, trying to avoid painkillers and other unhealthy coping mechanisms for dealing with the pain of playing professional football. So in the case of his retirement, Vontae listened to his body.
"Most people, when I did what I did, they concept I was literally going insane or one thing," he told ESPN. "But I used to be in reality high-quality. I was completely advantageous.” In the years main as much as his retirement, he were struggling with a groin harm that later changed into surgical procedure. This resulted in his position as a second-string player, but he was never a second-string man.
“I come from very humble beginnings,” Vontae instructed CNN relating to how his youth impacted his determination. "My mother was addicted to drugs, my father an alcoholic. I grew up in some very traumatic situations. I witnessed my father being shot multiple times by his brother. And when you come out of situations like that, you’re just not considered a quitter."
"I don’t think I quit. I think I feel that, as I walk away from a game that no longer serves me mentally, physically, and emotionally. That’s what I would tell people who say I quit. Most people don’t know who I am as a person or what I’ve been through to achieve the success I have."
Now in 2024, we have no concept if his choice to retire is attached to his death one way or the other, whether because of mental health challenges or simply the long-term physical effects (corresponding to CTE) of football that weighed in on Vontae’s choice to leave the NFL.
Our condolences go out to Vontae’s circle of relatives, buddies, and fans.
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