Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis passes away at age 35

Vontae Davis (FanDuel, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Eric Levenson and Devon M. Sayers of CNN on Monday, former National Football League cornerback Vontae Davis of Washington, District of Columbia passed away at the age of 35. He was found dead in his Florida home, and police are currently investigating the case.

Davis played 10 seasons in the NFL from 2009 to 2018. He was with the Miami Dolphins from 2009 to 2011, the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017, and with the Buffalo Bills in 2018.

Davis played in 121 NFL games. He had 395 combined tackles (344 solo tackles and 51 assisted tackles), 10 tackles for a loss, four quarterback hits, 22 interceptions for 228 yards, one pick six, 97 pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble for -9 yards and two sacks. The interception return for a touchdown was for 23 yards and came in a 38-10 Dolphins win over the Buffalo Bills on October 4, 2009. The two sacks came in Dolphins wins. The first came on December 4, 2011 in a 34-14 Dolphins win over the Oakland Raiders, and the second came on December 9, 2012 in a 27-23 Colts win over the Tennessee Titans. The forced fumble came in a 27-10 Colts win over the Titans on December 28, 2014.

Twice Davis was selected to the Pro Bowl. The first time with the Colts in 2014, and the second time in 2015. He played his college football at Illinois.

The retirement of Davis six years ago in Buffalo was simply one of the most bizarre retirements ever in the NFL. On September 16, 2018, Davis retired at halftime in a 31-20 Bills loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. At the time, Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander of Oakland, California commented on Davis’s retirement to Jill Martin of CNN by stating, “Never have seen it ever – Pop Warner, high school, college, pros – never heard of it, never seen it. It’s just completely disrespectful to his teammates.”

Vontae Davis was the younger brother of former NFL tight end star Vernon Davis, who went on to participate in Dancing with the Stars. Like Vontae Davis, Vernon Davis was selected to the Pro Bowl twice (2009 and 2013 with the San Francisco 49ers). He also led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches in 2009, and won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in 2016.

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