Buffalo Bills CB Vontae Davis abruptly withdraws from football at halftime against Los Angeles Chargers

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills cornerback Vontae Davis pulled out at half-time in the 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, claiming in a statement

Davis, a 10-year veteran, said he did not want to disrespect his teammates and coaches, but that physically, he could no longer play at the level that he had set .

"[He] "The Bills coach, Sean McDermott, said:" He told us that he had finished. "

Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander alerted reporters to Davis' sudden retirement after the match.

"I've never seen that," said Alexander. "Pop Warner, high school, pros, never heard of that, never seen that, it's just completely disrespectful to his teammates.He did not tell anyone.I found out getting into the second part of the match.They said that he was not going out, he retired.

After the game, Davis released a statement on social media.

He spoke of the physical balance of the match and said he was on the field on Sunday, he was not feeling well and wondering if he wanted to continue.

"And sincerely, I do not do it because the season is long and my family and I have to move away in good health rather than voluntarily embrace the warrior mentality and leave too late," he said. he declares.

"It was an overwhelming decision, but I'm at peace with me and my family."

Davis started Sunday's game but was not seen on the field or on the sideline in the second half. The Bills followed 28-6 at half-time.

"I have nothing to say about Vontae," Alexander said after the match. "I'm going to give him a little more respect than he showed us today, in terms of our mid-game start."

Davis, 30, was a good match for the Bills regular season game for Phillip Gaines, who started the Bills 47-3 defeat in the first week against the Baltimore Ravens. Gaines played a nickel corner for the Bills on Sunday after injury to rookie Taron Johnson in the opening game of the season.

The Bills signed a contract with Davis in February for a base salary of $ 2.25 million and a signing bonus of $ 1.5 million. From his base salary, $ 2 million is fully guaranteed. He also had to receive a bonus of $ 15,625 per game on the 53-player roster and $ 46,876 per game on the 46-player roster.

McDermott, speaking about how he will approach Davis's departure, said, "When I get back here, we'll continue to communicate exactly what's going on there and we'll leave from there."

In other defensive developments, McDermott took over from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in the second half of Sunday's game.

"I just felt we needed a spark," McDermott said. "It's my experience." Coach Frazier did a great job, as did the defensive staff, "I just thought we needed a spark."

McDermott said he would evaluate the situation of video games and "a lot of other things" after the defeat.

The Chargers earned 284 yards in the first period, the most the Bills allowed before half-time since 2013.

Buffalo allowed only three points in the second half after McDermott assumed his duties as a player.

"Honestly, I have not changed much," said McDermott. "I thought the defense played a lot of energy in the second half, I'll give the players credit, they fought it, it was almost the tale of two times, sometimes in the second half, sometimes. Not enough, again, but in the first period it was not enough. "

McDermott called Frazier a defensive coordinator after being hired as the Bills coach in 2017. Frazier coached the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013.

"Sean has been a defensive coordinator in his career," said Alexander. "He is the head coach, and he feels the need to step in. It's his prerogative as the head coach. He's free to do that." , Leslie is not a proud guy.We will be going back to work next week.I do not think there will be any problem in there, just understand who Leslie is and what he is talking about. He's all about victory., He's done it. "