Former Bill Davis doesn’t regret quitting at the half
Vontae Davis’s decision to retire in the middle of the Buffalo Bills’ game Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t sit well with some of his teammates. Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander called the move “completely disrespectful,” and fellow safety Rafael Bush said it caused him to lose “respect for him as a man.”
Davis defended himself in an NFL-issued statement released after Sunday’s game and isn’t backing down after a few days have passed, telling The Undefeated’s Domonique Foxworth that “leaving was therapeutic, bro.”
“I left everything the league wanted me to be, playing for my teammates while injured, the gladiator mentality, it all just popped,” Davis, a veteran of nine full NFL seasons before his abbreviated 2018 campaign, told Foxworth. “And when it popped, I just wanted to leave it all behind. So that’s why I don’t care what people say. That experience was personal and not meant for anyone else to understand. …”
Davis recounted to Foxworth his day on Sunday, saying he “felt normal” as he went through his normal pregame routine: the hotel stay the night before, the pregame meal and game-planning, his recitation of Psalm 23. But things abruptly changed once the game started.
“I didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel like myself,” he said. Deciding that he didn’t “belong on the field anymore,” he told Bills defensive backs coach John Butler that he was “done” just before halftime and sat on the bench. According to published reports, he then changed into street clothes and left the stadium.
“The crazy thing is that people automatically assumed that something was wrong with me mentally,” he said. “I feel great. I haven’t felt like this in …. well, in my whole life.” STEELERS: Star wide receiver Antonio Brown says he doesn’t want to be traded and admitted he’s got to do a better job of limiting distractions going forward.
Brown raised eyebrows in the aftermath of Pittsburgh’s loss to Kansas City last Sunday when he skipped mandatory meetings Monday for what he called personal reasons.
Brown also responded to criticism on social media by suggesting the team should trade him if it wants to find out how productive he can be when not playing with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Brown stressed Thursday he wants to remain with the club and that he’s simply upset because Pittsburgh is winless through two games: “We’re losing. We suck.”
BECKHAM JR.: Odell Beckham Jr. said he is sick of losing and frustrated with seemingly being asked to take tests every other week by the NFL for performance-enhancers.
Beckham tweeted about the tests Thursday before the Giants (0-2) practiced for Sunday’s game in Houston against the Texans (0-2).
“It’s actually funny how I ‘randomly’ get tested every other week,” Beckham wrote. “Dear @NFL please stop sending these people, ur takin away from meeting times and film… thanks.”
Beckham has never been suspended by the league for using a banned substance.
PATRIOTS: Tight end Rob Gronkowski is dealing with an ankle issue as the Patriots prepare for their Week 3 matchup with the Lions.
Gronkowski was a limited participant in practice Thursday. FALCONS: Wide receiver Julio Jones says he’s “good” to play against New Orleans on Sunday despite missing his second day of practice with tightness in his calf.
BRONCOS: Denver quarterback Case Keenum returned to practice Thursday after missing a day with a sore knee.