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Davis explains abrupt retirement: 'I don't belong on that field anymore'

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Seconds from halftime in Week 2, Vontae Davis had a revelation: he was done with football.

"I went to the bench after that series and it just hit me. I don't belong on that field anymore," Davis said to Domonique Foxworth of The Undefeated.

The 10-year veteran shocked the NFL universe on Sunday when he walked out on the Buffalo Bills halfway through a 31-20 beating.

Though he celebrated a drive-killing tackle early in the contest, Davis said he couldn't shake a foreboding feeling.

"I didn't feel right, I didn't feel like myself," he said. "Football is not for me."

Despite the backlash and criticism he has heard since his decision, Davis said he has no regrets about both his retirement and the manner in which he announced it.

"I didn't expect them to understand. That moment was shocking to me as well," he said. "My intention was not to hurt my teammates. In that moment, my intuition was telling me I don't belong on that field anymore."

The Bills signed the two-time Pro Bowler to a one-year, $5-million contract in February.

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