Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith never gave serious thought to retirement this offseason after catching 79 passes for 1,065 yards in 2014, but he has given some thought to when he might bring his playing days to an end.
Smith turned 36 this month and he said Thursday that he can see the finish line coming in the next few years. As Smith explained, he doesn’t plan to follow Jerry Rice’s lead and play until he’s 42 years old.
“Jerry Rice is obviously the greatest wide receiver to ever play, and I really don’t have the family structure to chase 40, to be honest,” Smith said, via the Baltimore Sun. “I have got a lot of things on my to-do list that don’t have anything to do with football. I’m going to take it day by day, but I will not be playing until I’m 40.”
Smith remained productive last season, but he did average six more yards per catch in the first half of the season than he did in the second half, which may explain why coach John Harbaugh has talked about limiting the veteran’s snaps in 2015. That may not be the easiest thing to pull off given the makeup of the receiving corps, which added Breshad Perriman while losing Torrey Smith and doesn’t have anyone with anything close to Smith’s track record as a reliable target.