INDIANAPOLIS - Outside linebacker Robert Mathis announced Friday he will retire following the Indianapolis Colts' season finale against Jacksonville on Sunday.
Mathis spent all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Colts and his 122 career sacks are a franchise record.
But at age 35 and with his contract about to expire, Mathis decided to leave the game on his own terms rather than trying to hang on for another year. He also had battled injuries each of the past three seasons.
Some teammates knew Mathis was leaning toward retirement even before he told them after breaking down the huddle after practice Friday. He told reporters a short time later, saying he had made up his mind about a month ago.
Raiders: NFL defers decision to reinstate Aldon Smith
ALAMEDA, Calif. - Suspended Oakland Raiders pass rusher Aldon Smith will not be reinstated by the NFL this season.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Friday that the league has deferred a decision on Smith's petition for reinstatement and will begin consideration in March. Pro Football Talk first reported the decision by the league.
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Smith had been suspended in November 2015 for violating the league's policy on substance abuse. He was eligible to be reinstated on Nov. 17, 2016, and met with commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this month to make his case to return. But the league has decided to wait instead.
The Raiders (12-3) finish the regular season on Sunday in Denver and will be making their first playoff appearance since 2002.
Smith's current suspension stemmed from an arrest in August 2015 on charges of drunken driving, hit and run, and vandalism, which led to his release by the San Francisco 49ers. That was Smith's fifth run-in with the law since joining the NFL as a first-round pick by San Francisco in 2011.
Smith signed with Oakland in September 2015 and played nine games before being suspended for a second time by the NFL.
He also missed the first nine games of the 2014 season while serving an NFL suspension for violations of the league's policies on substance abuse and personal conduct. He missed time during the 2013 season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest that September.
Smith also reportedly entered a treatment center this summer after video linked to his Periscope account showed possible marijuana use. Under NFL policy, a player suspended for substance abuse is prohibited from using drugs or alcohol during the ban.
The commissioner has sole discretion to determine if, or when, a player will be allowed back in the league, and failure to follow the treatment plan is considered a significant factor in that decision.
Despite his problems, the Raiders signed Smith to a two-year contract in April. They have been unable to have direct contact with him during the suspension, but have kept tabs on him through his agent.
Seahawks: Michael Bennett extended
RENTON, Wash. - Michael Bennett and the Seattle Seahawks reached agreement on a three-year contract extension on Friday that will keep the defensive end under contract through the 2020 season.
Bennett's agent Doug Hendrickson told The Associated Press that discussions about the extension started six months ago and finally reached their conclusion just before the end of the regular season. Bennett's deal begins with the 2018 season and is worth up to $31.5 million, including $16 million in the first year of the new deal.
The team had yet to announce the agreement.
"It's extremely rewarding. It's been probably a six-month journey in regards to working with Seattle and Pete Carroll and John Schneider and the whole crew over there," Hendrickson said. "It's been a long, arduous journey to get to where we're at now with a few bumps in the road -- i.e. a surgery and a few other things. To culminate this now in a deal that will pay Michael in terms of what his value should be means a lot."
Bennett, 31, has been a standout since arriving in Seattle in 2013. He originally played on a one-year deal and helped the Seahawks win their only Super Bowl title. Bennett signed a four-year contract after that season worth $28.5 million, but one that paid him under market value for his performance.
Bennett first declared his unhappiness with his contract situation before the start of the 2015 season and considered briefly holding out from training camp that year. Bennett showed up and changed representation to Hendrickson in the hopes of landing a long-term deal.
Bennett will be 33 years old during the first year of the new contract and Hendrickson expects it to be his final contract.
