Veteran WR Steve Smith Sr. To Retire After 2015 NFL Season

Veteran Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. says he will retire at the end of the 2015-16 season. Pictured: Smith (89) tries to catch the ball over Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen (28) in the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Sept. 11, 2014. Reuters/Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

While committed to playing in the 2015 NFL season, veteran wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. says the coming season will definitely be his last, citing his family as the primary reason he is set to walk away from the game.

"I feel like it's time," Smith, 36, told ESPN Monday. "I'm going to retire after this, go home and be a dad and look back and enjoy things."

Smith signed with the Baltimore Ravens before the 2014 season after playing for the Carolina Panthers from 2001 to 2013. Smith has had an illustrious career, making the NFL Pro Bowl five times, in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2011, and the NFL All-Pro First Team twice, in 2001 and 2005.

"I don't want to hold on. Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver to ever play. But I don't believe that chasing whatever it is to chase for four more years would be conducive to my family or be conducive to me,” Smith added. “I would be having to give up something. I would be jeopardizing something. I don't know what that it is, and I have any intentions of finding out."

Smith, who logged 1,065 receiving yards on 79 receptions with six touchdowns for the Ravens last year, said he can play for a few more years but is fine with retiring after the season. For his entire career, Smith has registered 13,262 receiving yards on 915 catches with 73 touchdowns.