Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee took a moment to remember his late friend and teammate Vontae Davis.
The former NFL cornerback was found unresponsive at a home in Florida earlier this week, Miami television station WSVN reported on Monday. Davie Police and the Broward County Medical Examiners Office responded to the scene, which authorities later said belonged to Davis’ grandmother.
Davis’ death left his former coaches, teammates and others stunned.
During Monday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” the host and his fellow former Colts’ teammate Darius Butler did their best to keep their emotions in check as they honored Davis.
“If you knew him, you loved him,” McAfee said. Butler added, “I’ll always remember him.”
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Pat McAfee speaks during his show on Media Row for the Super Bowl LVI at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
McAfee described Davis as “good guy.”
“Vontae was an incredibly cool dude, good guy, nice guy, upbeat guy, energetic guy,” McAfee said. “I think what we’ll remember him for is being an incredibly cool teammate in that locker room and being a guy that all of us enjoyed being around on a daily basis.”
He also encouraged viewers to make an effort to check in with their friends.
“Literally, if you knew him, you loved him, and you enjoyed the hell out of him. And today’s been tough. It’s going to be tough, but it’s a nice perspective-putter to remind everybody to reach out to your people… I haven’t talked to him in months, and obviously I’m never going to get to do it again.
“So reach out to your people, tell them you appreciate them. Tell them you like them. Tell them they’re not alone… Rest in Peace Vontae. Ya done good pal… Had no clue this was coming. Nobody did.”
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Bulter spent the final six seasons of his NFL career in Indy and pointed out that Davis’ birthday was “around the corner.”
Vontae Davis #21 of the Indianapolis Colts watches from the sideline during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on October 23, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
“Thirty-five years old, birthday around the corner… He kind of lived his life to the beat of his own drum, and it’s tough when you transition out [of the NFL] you’ve got to deal with life. You go so long living the dream… then when you go into real life… it’s tough,” an emotional Butler said.
McAfee noted that he and Butler learned of Davis’ death earlier in the day, but they wanted to wait until the news was made public before speaking about their former teammate.
Aug 28, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee (1) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. (Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports)
“We didn’t want to be the ones, we didn’t think it was right for us to be the people that kind of informed the world that one of our former teammates and friends had passed away,” McAfee said. “It just felt weird, so we’ve been just been trying to distract ourselves all show. It was a tough morning.”
Davis’ brother, Vernon Davis, won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.
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The Miami Dolphins drafted Davis in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He joined the Colts in 2012. He spent six seasons in Indianapolis before playing his final NFL season in 2018 with the Buffalo Bills.
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