Vontae Davis death: Latest updates after former Colts, Bills CB found dead at age 35

Dan Treacy

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Vontae Davis death: Latest updates after former Colts, Bills CB found dead at age 35 image

The NFL community is mourning the death of former Colts cornerback Vontae Davis.

Davis spent 10 seasons in the NFL, starting his career with the Dolphins after being selected 25th overall in the 2009 draft out of Illinois. He spent three seasons as a starter in Miami before landing with the Colts in a preseason trade in 2012. Davis enjoyed the best stretch of his career in Indianapolis, earning Pro Bowl appearances in both 2014 and 2015.

Davis' Colts career ended with an injury-riddled 2017 season, and he latched on with the Bills in 2018 before infamously retiring at halftime of Buffalo's Week 2 game.

The two-time Pro-Bowler was the brother of longtime 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, who last played in 2019.

Here are the latest updates on the investigation surrounding Davis' death.

Latest updates after Vontae Davis found dead at 35

Davis was found dead Monday at a Southwest Ranches, Fla. home owned by his grandmother, 7News Miami first reported. Police confirmed Monday afternoon that Davis was the individual found deceased.

Police told 7News Miami that no foul play was involved, but there are no further details about the potential cause of death.

Davis was last in the news in November, when he was sentenced to probation after a violent crash and DUI arrest in February 2023. Police found Davis curled up asleep on the side of the road when they arrived, and the incident sent multiple people to the hospital.

Davis' former teammate Pat McAfee paid tribute to his friend during Monday's show, calling him an "incredibly cool dude." Darius Butler, who once manned the Colts' secondary alongside Davis, was also shaken up when speaking about the news.

Colts owner Jim Irsay offered his condolences in a tweet, calling Davis "a great guy, teammate, player."

The Dolphins confirmed the news as well, paying tribute to Davis.

Davis was born in Washington D.C. and spent his college career at Illinois, but he moved to south Florida after his retirement and at one point opened a wellness spa in Fort Lauderdale.

Vontae Davis halftime retirement

Whether fair or not, Davis might be best remembered among fans for retiring during halftime of the Bills' Week 2 game against the Chargers in 2018. Davis had been inactive in Week 1.

Davis walked back to an empty locker room, texted his wife that he was retiring and simply left the building. By the start of the third quarter, Davis was at home wearing regular clothes.

Davis' decision, while unusual, wasn't just an emotional call made during an ugly loss, which also happened to be Josh Allen's first NFL start. He later explained that he simply realized he didn't belong on an NFL field anymore and opted to walk away.

Davis' "mind felt far away" during the first half of Buffalo's Week 2 game against the Chargers," according to ESPN. There was no injury that pushed Davis over the edge — though his groin had been bothering him for multiple years. Instead, he felt he was mentally checked out and couldn't return to the field under any circumstances.

Vontae Davis NFL stats

Season Team Games INT Pass deflections Tackles
2009 Dolphins 16 4 11 52
2010 Dolphins 16 1 12 54
2011 Dolphins 12 4 9 43
2012 Colts 10 3 7 51
2013 Colts 16 1 12 46
2014 Colts 15 4 18 42
2015 Colts 16 4 16 48
2016 Colts 14 1 10 37
2017 Colts 5 0 2 21
2018 Bills 1 0 0 1
Total   121 22 97 395

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy Photo

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.