NFL stars who could retire after 2016

Going into his age 34 season, Babineaux remains a reliable but unspectacular defensive lineman for the Falcons. He's already well past the shelf life of a normal player at his position.

Boldin waited it out this offseason until signing with the Lions as their third wideout. He's lost a step at age 35 but can still box out and catch the ball in tight spaces as well as anyone.

Brady was still playing at an MVP level last season and has stated that he'd like to play well into his 40s. Still, he's the oldest starting quarterback in football at age 39, and Deflategate undoubtedly took a lot out of him. Quarterbacks also tend to fall off suddenly, as we saw with Peyton Manning last season.

Brees is still one of the league's top quarterbacks at age 37, but his team's losing surely has to weigh on him. For his purposes, Brees has led the league in passing in four of the last five seasons.

Bryant just keeps on kicking, literally, going into his age 41 season, though he is coming off one of his worst years after making less than 78 percent of his field goals and playing 11 games. The drop could be a sign that he's slipping.

Davis had his best season age age 32 last year after the Panthers drafted his likely replacement. It still remains to be seen how much longer Davis can go, especially given his past serious injuries.

The second oldest kicker in the game, Dawson is still highly productive. He made 89 percent of his field goals last season and hopes to continue his efficiency at age 41.

The Bears let Forte walk in free agency as they try to get younger, though it's also not surprising based on his recent production. Forte averaged only 3.9 yards per carry in 2014 and 4.1 yards per carry in 2015, but he should still see significant carries this season at age 30.

Foster has suffered a laundry list of injuries in his NFL career, especially recently. He played only four games for the Texans last season but could try to carry the load in Miami this season at age 30.

Freeney is becoming a journeyman pass-rushing specialist near the end of his career, now with his third team in three years. He did have eight sacks in 11 games for Arizona last season, but the end is certainly near at age 36.

The Chargers' all-time leading receiver remains productive going into his age 36 season and has also remained relatively healthy recently. Still, Gates has a history of foot issues, and the Chargers' recent struggles surely don't help his motivation.

Harrison takes it year by year with the Steelers, now going into his age 38 season. He had five sacks as a role player last season.

Johnson's play fell off a cliff last season with the Colts, but he's hoping to hang on with the Titans. A roster spot isn't guaranteed for this future Hall of Famer and seven-time Pro Bowler.

Mathis returned from injury to record seven sacks last season. While still productive, he doesn't have the burst that he did earlier in his career as he heads into his age 35 season.

Newman seems joined at the hip with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and was still very productive last season at age 37. He's the oldest defensive back in the league this season.

Peppers still draws fear from opposing quarterbacks going into his age 36 season after accumulating 10.5 sacks last year. The nine-time Pro Bowler is now among the oldest defensive linemen in the game.

An annual Pro Bowl tackle, Peters started to look more fragile last season at age 34. He's still productive but probably doesn't have many seasons left.

Injuries have been a major issue for Romo in recent seasons, between major back surgery and his collarbone breaks last year. Romo struggled last season when he did play in four games and enters his age 36 season.

Smith is returning from a severely torn Achilles and was already planning to retire following last season. Now he's trying to go out on his own terms following his age 37 season.

Wake had seven sacks in seven games last year, missing more than half the season to a torn Achilles. The Dolphins hope he can rebound at age 34, but the injury could play havoc on the pass rusher.

Whitworth had his best season last year at age 34, becoming an All-Pro for the first time. The Bengals have to be thrilled with the late bloomer, but his age still shows that he could be approaching the end of his career.

Wilfork's play started to slip after leaving the Patriots last season, making only 22 tackles in 16 games. He will turn 35 in November.

The four-time Pro Bowler played only six games last season due to injury and recorded just one sack for the Bills. He enters his age 33 season just hoping to rebound.

The undersized Woodhead was relied on to spell rookie running back Melvin Gordon after missing nearly all of 2014 to injury. He had 80 receptions but averaged only 3.7 yards per carry on the ground at age 30. Woodhead probably needs to do better this year to continue his career much longer.

A future Hall of Fame kicker, Vinatieri is still going strong as the NFL's oldest player at age 43. He made nearly 93 percent of his field goal attempts in 2015.