Atlanta Falcons' Dwight Freeney not "even thinking" about retirement

ATLANTA, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- With the Atlanta Falcons sitting out this weekend with a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs, Dwight Freeney has some extra time to think.

But he's not pondering retirement, at least not yet.

"I don't even think about that until the year is over," Freeney told ESPN's Vaughn McClure. "It usually happens a month or two after the season. I sit there, feel this leg, feel this arm, feel this knee and see where I'm at mentally."

Freeney, 36, is in his 15th season. He has 122.5 career sacks and 46 career forced fumbles. He began his career in 2002 with the Indianapolis Colts. After 11 seasons with the Colts, the three-time first-team All-Pro joined the San Diego Chargers in 2013. He joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, before hooking up with the Falcons this offseason.

The seven-time Pro-Bowl selection had three sacks and seven tackles in 15 games this season. Freeney is a free agent this offseason.

"Numbers can lie," Freeney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December. "I think I'm affecting games but sometimes it's not always going to show up in the stats. Sometimes a guy runs out of bounds and you're the closest to him so you get a sack. Sometimes a guy holds you right before you get the sack and he gets a penalty."

Freeney also told the Journal-Constitution's Jeff Schultz that he would consider coaching maybe when he was "45 or 50."