Buffalo’s Davis retires midgame
As if Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott didn’t have enough to worry about in trailing the Chargers 28-6 at halftime on Sunday, he had to contend with veteran cornerback Vontae Davis quitting on the team.
“Pulled himself out of the game. He communicated to us that he was done,” McDermott revealed after a 31-20 loss. McDermott provided no other details except to bluntly say, “No,” when asked if Davis was injured.
The Bills’ two veteran defensive leaders were far more upset with Davis essentially going AWOL.
“I don’t have nothing to say about Vontae. I’ll give him a little bit more respect than he showed us today as far as quitting,” defensive end Lorenzo Alexander said.
“He didn’t say nothing to nobody,” Alexander added. “You know as much as I know. I found out going into the second half of the game. They said, he’s not coming out. He retired.”
Tackle Kyle Williams said he’s never encountered a player ever quitting on a team during a game.
“I think the only thing to say is he’s where he needs to be right now,” Williams said. Asked where that was, he responded: “That’s not here, point blank and simple.”
Davis, the younger brother of former 49er Vernon Davis, issued a lengthy statement posted on the NFL’s Twitter account, announcing he is retiring after 10 seasons.
“This isn’t how I pictured retiring from the NFL,” he wrote. “But today on the field, reality hit me and hard. I shouldn’t be out there anymore.”
Davis said he meant no disrespect to Bills players and coaches.
“I hold myself to a standard. Mentally, I always expect myself to play at a high level,” he wrote. “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.”’ RODGERS GUTS THROUGH KNEE INJURY >> Aaron Rodgers was sore. It wasn’t just his left knee that hurt.
His mobility limited while wearing a brace on his injured knee, the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers said he got punched in the eye during a sack. He absorbed a couple other shots, too.
Once the game started, the adrenaline kicked in. The ending was kind of a downer for the two-time NFL MVP.
Rodgers was 30 of 42 for 281 yards and a touchdown, but the Packers played to a 29-29 draw with the Minnesota Vikings after giving up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.
“Close to an `L.’ It doesn’t feel great,” Rodgers said about the tie. WASHINGTON SELLOUT STREAK ENDS >> The halfcentury home sellout streak is over for Washington. The announced attendance of 57,013 for the team’s 21-9 loss to Indianapolis was about 25,000 short of the 82,000 capacity listed in the team’s 2018 media guide.
The team boasts in the guide that it has “sold out every home game for the past 50 seasons.”
So much for that. Team spokesman Tony Wyllie confirmed that the sellout streak ended Sunday.
Davis