NFL Player Retires in Middle of Game

Pro athletes often say their bodies will tell them when it's time to retire. For Vontae Davis of the Buffalo Bills, that time was in the middle of a game. The cornerback stunned teammates by abruptly retiring from the NFL at halftime Sunday, when the Bills were down 28-6 in what became a 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the AP reports. Davis, who turned 30 in May and was in his 10th season, said in a statement he had played through many injuries and had multiple surgeries in his career, but in Sunday's game, reality hit him "fast and hard" and he suddenly realized: "I shouldn't be out there anymore."

He said he "just didn't feel right" and decided it was better to walk away healthy than "embrace the wounded warrior mentality and walk away too late." Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said the sudden retirement was "completely disrespectful" to teammates and he had never seen anything like it before, ESPN reports. "He didn't say nothing to nobody," Alexander said. "I found out going into the second half of the game. They said he's not coming out, he retired. That's it." In his statement, Davis said he "meant no disrespect" to his teammates and coaches when he made the "overwhelming decision." (More NFL stories.)