Vontae Davis Bio, Height, Weight, Why Did He Retire Mid Game?

Quick Facts

Vontae Davis is a retired American football cornerback who had different spells of his nearly decade-long professional career with NFL sides such as Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. After a well-decorated college career at the University of Illinois, Davis was selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The former NFL star earned two consecutive Pro Bowl selections during his professional career, however, the most striking moment of his career would be his abrupt retirement from the sport halfway into a Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Chargers game on September 16, 2018.

Vontae Davis Bio, Age

Best known by his official name Vontae Davis, he was born Vontae Ottis Yeetvis on May 27, 1988, in Washington D.C. He had his high school education at Dunbar High School where as a two-sport athlete, he got lettered in football and track. In his senior high school year, Davis finished first in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash events at the 2006 DCIAA East/West Championships.

In football, the talented player had time at the cornerback and wide receiver positions in high school. He finished his senior season with 38 tackles and 8 interceptions, a performance which earned him first-team All-Metro, All-American, DCIAA West first-team All-Conference honors as well as the D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year Award.

For his college career, Vontae Davis opted for the University of Illinois among a number of other football scholarship offers. He played defensive back in his brilliant 3-year stint with the Illinois Fighting Illini recording 206 combined tackles and 7 interceptions in 36 appearances. Forgoing the final year of his college eligibility, Davis declared for the 2009 NFL Draft in December 2008.

NFL Career

Vontae Davis was selected 25th overall by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He began his rookie season as the No. 4 cornerback on the Dolphins’ depth chart behind Will Allen, Sean Smith, and Nathan Jones. For the entire season, he made 9 starts in 16 games in which he recorded 51 total tackles (47 solo), 11 pass deflections and 4 interceptions.

Having proved his worth, Davis earned much more playing time in the 2010 season as he was named the No. 1 cornerback on the team’s depth chart. He started in all but one of 16 total appearances recording 54 combined tackles (46 solo), 12 pass deflections and one interception. In his third and final season with the Dolphins, the talented player started in all 12 appearances with the team finishing the season with 43 total tackles (39 solo), 9 pass deflections, 4 interceptions, and one sack.

Before the start of the 2012 NFL season, Vontae Davis was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Though plagued by a number of injuries during the season, Davis finished the 2012 season with 51 combined tackles (46 solo), 7 pass deflections, 3 interceptions and one sack in 10 total appearances. The talented player maintained his topnotch performance as he was named for the Pro Bowl game in 2014 and 2015. He equally remained the Colts’ first-choice cornerback until his final (2017) season with the team when he was benched in favor of 2017 draftee Quincy Wilson. Davis finished the season with 21 total tackles (16 solo) and 2 pass deflections after featuring in 5 games for the entire season.

Vontae Davis was released by the Indianapolis Colts prior to the end of the 2017 season and by February 2018, he signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent. However, the NFL star featured in just one game with the Bills before ending his career in a rather bizarre manner.

Why Did He Retire Mid-Game?

Vontae Davis’ NFL career came to a rather controversial end barely 2 games into the 2018-19 season. Retiring mid-season is rare for an average professional athlete, however, retiring in the middle of a game is an unprecedented feat. As bizarre as it may seem this was exactly how Davis ended his pro football career on September 16, 2018, when he surprisingly deserted the Buffalo Bills at halftime in the team’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The move came as a surprise to the Buffalo Bills’ coach as well as other players on the team as they all had no hint of Davis’ impending retirement. Apparently, the decision to retire in such a manner was unplanned for the veteran cornerback. As revealed in an official statement released after his infamous last game, Vontae Davis cited the fact that he no longer had the capacity to give a great performance and thus deemed it improper to continue playing, even for a minute longer.

Height and Other Body Measurements

Vontae Davis stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm). He maintains a body weight of 94 kg (207 lbs). At the peak of his career in the NFL, Davis mainly stood out his immense physical strength as well as his versatility in the defense.

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