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Buffalo Bills: Vontae Davis retirement indicative of awful situation

By Cody Williams

ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 16: Buffalo Bills players enter the stadium before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at New Era Field on September 16, 2018 in Orchard Park, New York. Los Angeles defeats Buffalo 31-20. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 16: Buffalo Bills players enter the stadium before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at New Era Field on September 16, 2018 in Orchard Park, New York. Los Angeles defeats Buffalo 31-20. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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The Buffalo Bills signed veteran cornerback Vontae Davis this offseason, but he won’t be finishing 2018 with the team and it’s all a bad look for player and team.

No one was going to mistake the Buffalo Bills for a team in a good situation after their Week 1 performance against the Baltimore Ravens. Having said that, it’s hard to say that anyone could’ve predicted the extent of how bad things are with this team right now. In case you haven’t heard, things got so bad in the Bills’ Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that veteran cornerback Vontae Davis retired at halftime — Buffalo trailed 28-3 at the time.

First, let’s clear this up; this is no doubt a poor move by Davis. Yes, he’s in a bad situation where it’s obvious that many things aren’t going to go right in 2018. However, that still doesn’t warrant a decision like this. Even if he’s going to retire midseason (if you can call Week 2 that), this isn’t how you go about it. Go talk to the coaches after the game, discuss options, or do something different than what you actually did.

But beyond that, it’s worth noting how ludicrous the situation is. Things are apparently so bad with the Bills right now that veteran players and consummate professionals are out here just quitting during the middle of the second regular season game. That’s near unprecedented and patently absurd.

As much as Davis is at fault for handling his business in such a manner, you have to ponder the notion that he was in a position where he felt like that was a suitable course of action. Maybe that’s not entirely the case as some teammates spoke out against his decision. However, it does seem that the culture in Buffalo is such that Davis was fine doing his business in such a manner.

It’s worth noting that the Bills did show some signs of life with Josh Allen at the helm in the second half. The rookie quarterback didn’t play perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but he showed glimpses of the talent that made him a top-10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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At this point, however, those glimpses feel like all the Bills have to cling to. Things are bad enough that players would rather retire immediately than play two more quarters. And as wrong as that may be from an individual level, it’s an awful sign of where this team is at right now. It’s hard to say that things will get worse than that this season, but it’s hard to see how they get better too.

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