FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney is in no rush to decide his playing future.

Although his close friend and former Indianapolis Colts teammate, Robert Mathis, decided to retire at season's end, Freeney told ESPN.com that any retirement plans won't even be considered until the No. 2 seed Falcons conclude their playoff journey, which begins in 10 days.

“I don't even think about that until the year is over,” Freeney said. “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, who turns 37 exactly two weeks after the Feb. 5 Super Bowl, played in 15 games during the regular season in strictly a pass-rush role. Freeney, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, contributed three sacks, 10 quarterback hits and four tackles for losses in 15 games. He was invaluable in terms of guiding younger players such as NFL sack champion Vic Beasley Jr.

Freeney was asked if the Falcons' success during the regular season and the brotherly vibe around the locker room might entice him to come back, if the Falcons want to re-sign him. He's playing on a one-year deal.

“It's been great,” Freeney said. “It's been an absolutely amazing situation. But it's a process, and I've got to give it its due process. So I can't base it on emotion now, either way.

“It could be, 'Everything is going great. I want to play next year.' Or all of a sudden I say, 'Ah, I don't want to play next year.' Then all of a sudden, I do. That's why I give it a month or so after the season and then make that decision.”

Freeney, now in his 15th season, has contemplated retirement for quite some time.

“I've been taking it a year at a time since Year 12,” he said. “When I left Indy (after the 2012 season), I was going to retire. Before I left Indy, I was like, 'This is going to be my last year if they re-sign me,' and they didn't re-sign me. So that gave me something to play for.

“So then I was like, 'I'm going to go to San Diego and play one year and be done.' Then I got hurt. And I was like, 'I don't want to end on that type of note.' Then I played the next year and didn't have the best statistical year. Then I was like, 'Maybe I'll retire.'"

He didn't.

“I was like, 'Let me work out and see what happens; see if free agency heats up,'“ Freeney recalled. “There was nothing. Six weeks into it, I was about to retire. Then I got a phone call from the Cardinals. It was an amazing experience. I played great. Felt good. Loved the team. At the end of that year (2015), I was like, 'I could probably do one more.' That's how I ended up here.

“Every year has been one year so, holler at me in a couple months.”

Freeney stands 18th on the all-time sack list with 122.5, a half-sack less than Mathis. The two were in a competition to top each other, so Freeney would have to play another season to surpass Mathis.