Vontae Davis on Retirement: 'My Intuition Was Telling Me I Don’t Belong on That Field Anymore'

Vontae Davis said, "It was me cold turkey leaving behind an identity that I carried with me for so long."

After Bills cornerback Vontae Davis retired abruptly during halftime of his team's 31–20 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, he released an official statement through the league explaining his decision. 

Davis went into more detail Wednesday with The Undefeated's Domonique Foxworth, saying that he felt normal on the morning of the game but something changed when play started. 

"I didn’t feel right," Davis told Foxworth. "I didn’t feel like myself." 

His decision to leave sparked an uproar on social media. Some of Davis's teammates said the way he left was "disrespectful."

But Davis said he has no regrets on the timing.

"My intention was not to hurt my teammates," he said. "In that moment, my intuition was telling me I don’t belong on that field anymore."

He added in text: "And on a final note, Fox, leaving was therapeutic, bro," Davis wrote. "I left everything the league wanted me to be, playing for my teammates while injured, the gladiator mentality, it all just popped. 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. It was me cold turkey leaving behind an identity that I carried with me for so long."

The 30-year-old Davis signed with Buffalo this offseason but was inactive for Week 1. He had previously played with the Colts since 2012. Davis was taken by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft.