NFL notebook: Bills' Davis reportedly quits team at halftime

Buffalo Bills cornerback Vontae Davis reportedly pulled himself out of Sunday's game against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers and told teammates at halftime he was retiring. Veteran defender Lorenzo Alexander told reporters in the locker room after the Bills fell to 0-2 with a 31-20 loss that Davis had quit on the team at halftime and decided to retire. "I don't have nothing to say about Vontae," Alexander said. "I'm going to give him a little bit more respect than he showed us today, as far as quitting on us in the middle of the game. "I never have seen that. Pop Warner, high school, pros. Never heard of it. Never seen it. It's just completely disrespectful to his teammates. ... He didn't say nothing to nobody. I found out going into the second half of the game. They said he's not coming out. He retired. That's it." Bills coach Sean McDermott declined to go into details about what happened with Davis but confirmed that he chose to stop playing. The team also confirmed there was not an injury issue. "He pulled himself out of the game. He told us he was done," McDermott said. Davis was not on the field or on the sideline after halftime, when the Bills trailed 28-6. The Bills signed Davis to a one-year deal in February that included a $2.25 million base salary and a $1.5 million signing bonus. Fully guaranteed is $2 million of his base salary. He also was due roster bonuses of $15,625 per game on the 53-man roster and $46,876 per game on the 46-man gameday roster. --Kansas City Chiefs second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw six touchdown passes, tying Len Dawson's team record, in a 42-37 win over the host Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Mahomes, promoted to the starting job after veteran Alex Smith was not re-signed, matched the feat of Dawson, who threw six touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 1, 1964. Mahomes was one touchdown pass from tying the NFL record of seven touchdown passes in a game shared by eight quarterbacks, with Drew Brees the last to do so for the New Orleans Saints in 2015. Mahomes completed 23 of 28 passes for 326 yards. He did not throw an interception. He finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He has an NFL-record 10 touchdown passes through the first two games with no interceptions. Brees (2009) and Peyton Manning (2013) previously held the record with nine each in their team's first two games. Manning also did not have an interception during that span. --Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is on pace to return in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, multiple media outlets reported. The Eagles have been cautious with Wentz, who sustained a torn ACL and LCL against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 10. He has yet to be medically cleared. Nick Foles has been under center for the Eagles, leading them to six wins in eight games -- including Super Bowl LII. One of the losses came Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Because of concerns of Wentz's recovery, Philadelphia restructured Foles' contract during the offseason to provide a reliable backup option. Wentz was considered the front-runner for league MVP honors before the injury and had to watch Foles guide the Eagles to a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. --The Dallas Cowboys are expected to sign free agent wide receiver Brice Butler, a former key player with the team, early next week, according to a report in The Athletic. Butler spent the last three seasons with the Cowboys but left in free agency. He reportedly said he had no interest in returning and he criticized former teammate Dez Bryant. The Cowboys gained only 232 yards against the Carolina Panthers last week in the season opener, passing for less than 200 yards for the seventh time in the past nine games. Cole Beasley was their leading receiver last week, with seven catches for 73 yards. Dallas had no pass plays over 20 yards. The Arizona Cardinals signed Butler but released him before the start of the season. Butler had 43 catches for 794 yards and six touchdowns in his career in Dallas, including 15 receptions for 317 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games last season. --For the second time in as many weeks, the same NFL crew led by referee Bill Vinovich has ejected a player for unnecessary roughness. NFL officials in past years resisted ejecting players for unnecessary roughness, but Atlanta Falcons safety Damontae Kazee became the second player this season to be sent to the showers with that infraction. Kazee tackled Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton while Newton was sliding to the ground. He was not ejected by Vinovich for lowering of the helmet and initiating contact, according to a report by Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Similar to the ejection in last week's Cincinnati Bengals-Indianapolis Colts game, Vinovich made the determination, according to NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron in a Florio report. Cincinnati safety Shawn Williams was ejected last week for a hit to the helmet of Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck as an unnecessary roughness penalty, not because of the new NFL helmet rule. --Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa is expected to be sidelined into October because of a bruised bone in his left foot, according to a published report. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Bosa is hoping the swelling goes down and his foot stabilizes during his rehabilitation. If that's not the case, surgery remains an option. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn didn't announce a specific length to the absence of Bosa, who has been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. "He's week to week, but he'll probably be gone for the next couple weeks," Lynn said on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday. Bosa sat out the Chargers' 38-28 season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend. The 23-year-old Bosa visited foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay (Wis.) on Wednesday. Bosa initially injured the foot during 11-on-11 team drills in practice on Aug. 7. The Pro Bowl standout had been in a walking boot this week. --Five teams reportedly have expressed interest in trading for soon-to-be former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, multiple media outlets reported. It is unclear which NFL teams are interested in acquiring Gordon, who was informed by the Browns on Saturday that they will be parting ways with him. Per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Gordon reportedly is interested in joining the Dallas Cowboys or San Francisco 49ers -- although he has no say in where is traded. ESPN reported that the Browns would prefer to attempt to trade Gordon out of their conference. Gordon posted an Instagram story later Saturday in which he thanked the Browns and their fans. "Huge s/o to the city of Cleveland," Gordon wrote. "This place will always feel like home to me.. I'm extremely honored and blessed to have been able to grow up and start a life amongst such a passionate and motivated group of individuals.. It's been a hell of a journey with you guys. I wish all of you nothing but the best.. Thanks to the @ClevelandBrowns organization for having me, I'll never forget my time here. "Same book, next chapter... P.S. Anybody need a deep threat WR??" Gordon is a vested veteran and is not subject to waivers. If the 27-year-old Gordon is released by the Browns, he will become a free agent. If another team trades for Gordon, he will play this season for his minimum salary of $790,000 and can be tendered after the season. --Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the team did its research before signing linebacker Mychal Kendricks to a one-year contract last week. Kendricks is facing a possible prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. "We had done a lot of homework on it," Carroll said Saturday. "It happened 4 1/2 years ago, so it's a story that's been worked on for a long time. There's a lot of good information. We've come to learn who he is and what he's all about and how remorseful he was and how he admitted to his mistake a long time ago -- he paid the money back, he did all of the right things along the way. "The process continues, but we just checked everything we could possibly check out, and he's a guy that deserves a second chance." Kendricks' sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 24. The NFL already has suspended Kendricks, but the ban has been appealed and is expected to be heard in the next 10 days or so, ESPN reported. Kendricks, 27, said he's willing to give his all for the Seahawks. "As of right now, I have an opportunity, and I want to make the most of that," he said. Carroll confirmed that Kendricks will play Monday night against the Chicago Bears (0-1). The Seahawks (0-1) have been decimated by injury, with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (groin) and weakside linebacker K.J. Wright (knee) having been ruled out for the game. "He's going to play," Carroll said. "The background that he has and the instincts that he has, and he has been coached really well over the years, he really has a chance to pick it up really quickly and get in there and help us. He had three really good days and studied like crazy with the coaches, and he's ready to help us out." Kendricks signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason after his release by the Philadelphia Eagles. Kendricks had his contract terminated by the Browns after he was formally charged on Aug. 29. --Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman could be out two to four weeks with a knee injury, ESPN reported. Freeman had been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, but it now appears that he will be sidelined longer, despite initial reports that the injury was considered minor. The injury -- a right knee contusion -- occurred during the Falcons' 18-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6. Freeman rushed six times for 36 yards and caught three passes for 14 yards versus Philadelphia. Falcons coach Dan Quinn said earlier that the 26-year-old Freeman, who did not practice this past week, suffered no structural damage to the knee, which is the same one he injured last year. The Falcons are hopeful that Freeman, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who is signed to a five-year, $42.5 million contract, will recover quickly. He's reported to be working hard at rehabbing the knee. Last season, Freeman was slowed by the significant knee injury but rushed for 865 yards and seven touchdowns on 196 carries after producing back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2015 and 2016. --Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette did not play in Sunday's showdown with the New England Patriots. He was one of the seven inactive players listed by the Jaguars 90 minutes before their kickoff with the Patriots. Fournette suffered a hamstring injury last Sunday in the second quarter of the Jaguars' win over the New York Giants. Even though Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said team doctors called it a "minor hamstring injury," Fournette did not practice the entire week with the Jaguars. On Friday, Marrone said he was still optimistic that Fournette could play Sunday. He also said he was comfortable with having just two active running backs for Sunday's game. But on Saturday, the Jaguars brought up running back Brandon Wilds from the practice squad to the active roster. Wilds was originally signed by Atlanta as an undrafted rookie in May 2016. He then spent time with the New York Jets and Cleveland before he was signed to the Jaguars' practice squad last October. His career totals are 10 rushing attempts for 27 yards in four games with the Jets. Wilds is a bigger back, similar in size to Fournette. Wilds is listed at 6-0, 220 pounds. He backed up T.J. Yeldon, who will start at running back and reserve Corey Grant. --Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was under center when the Green Bay Packers faced the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Rodgers sprained his left knee in the first half of last Sunday night's game against the Chicago Bears. He returned in the second half and tossed three touchdown passes to help the Packers complete a 24-23 comeback win. Rodgers, who was listed as questionable on Friday, practiced for the first time this week on Saturday. The quarterback had trusted target Davante Adams in Sunday's game. Adams, who is listed as active, was deemed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Rodgers was injured in Sunday night's win when Bears defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris fell on his left knee with about nine minutes to go in the second quarter. The 34-year-old exited the game and was carted off the field before returning in the third quarter. Rodgers led a comeback from a 20-point deficit that featured three touchdown passes -- including a 75-yard touchdown to Randall Cobb that put the Packers ahead with 2:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. --The NFL Foundation will donate $1 million to Hurricane Florence relief efforts, commissioner Roger Goodell announced. The contribution will be distributed to organizations that will address the immediate needs of those impacted throughout North and South Carolina. "The NFL family sends its support to the individuals, families and communities affected by Hurricane Florence," Goodell said a statement. "Natural disasters like these are devastating. As communities in and around the Carolinas recover and rebuild, we hope these funds will provide some measure of relief in the days, weeks and months ahead." Thirteen deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Florence, which has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.