Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane on Vontae Davis retirement.
Vontae Davis is the story that just seems to find a way to keep on giving.
Plenty of time has passed since that 2018 September day in Orchard Park. The Bills got blown out by the Chargers that Sunday, but Davis retiring at halftime will be the story from that game that lives in Bills lore.
Upon it happening, the team said little. While sometimes one can be tough on the club about not saying much, what else do you expect them to do? But now years removed, we’re starting to hear a few stories about it.
Back in April, cornerback Tre’Davious White and former running back LeSean McCoy joked about it on social media.
“Coach was like, ‘Get ready,’ and Vontae was like, ‘Nah, I’m done,'” White joked about being on the sideline with him, explaining he thought Davis meant after the season, not right there and then.
But now along with White and Shady, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane joined the Pat McAfee Show and gave some candid insight into his perspective into what happened. It’s certainly a day he won’t forget.
“Something I’ve never seen, and you know Vontae… I can say I’ve seen a lot of things… that’s when I said I’ve seen it all,” Beane said. “I’ve seen a kid in little league walk off the field, he’s ticked off, his mom or dad is not happy, ‘Get in the car johnny, we’re going home.’ But I’ve never seen it from an NFL perspective.”
The GM explained that he got a message from the locker room. But as text messages often go, whether it’s about making plans with a friend, or going through a break up, sometimes you just don’t fully understand the depth of a text message as opposed to actually speaking. That was the case for Beane in this circumstance at halftime.
“I got a text and I didn’t understand it, to be honest with you. I got a text from the locker room, basically saying, ‘Hey, Vontae’s done,’ and I’m like, ‘Done?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, says he’s not going to play anymore,'” Beane said. “I thought in my head he’s pulling himself out. Something’s hurting, a groin thing or something, or he and a coach got into it.
“Never in my mind, he’s like… done with the NFL, all that stuff.”
Even eventually in-person following the game… plenty of confusion was still going on for the Bills front office.
“After the game, talking to Sean (McDermott), he still doesn’t really know everything,” Beane said. “You’re asking questions and like… no, he literally got dressed, in the locker room at halftime, packed his stuff, and drove out.”
As game day ended, Beane said the following day he contacted Davis’s agent to see if there was something “underlying” and perhaps there was a chance that Davis was going to come back in and work things out.
“He was like, ‘No, I’m happy, I’m good, I’ll pay my bonus back.’ Because that was my next thing, like how are we going to do this? And they were like, ‘Nope, he’s going to pay his money back. And I’ve got to give him a lot of credit. Some people may have argued. Vontae immediately paid everything back. Although I was very disappointed to see a guy do that at halftime, I’ve got to give him credit.
“Within two weeks, he paid his bonus back. I thought that was pretty impressive,” Beane said.
Like you and me, the Vontae Davis story in western New York is something the Bills general manager won’t soon forget, much like all of Bills Mafia. What a crazy day for us all. Good thing the grass has been green since then.
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