According to USA Today Sports Tom Pelissero, former Indianapolis Colts pass rushing great Dwight Freeney wants to continue his playing career–having contemplated his football future after a tough Super Bowl loss while serving as a member of the runner-up Atlanta Falcons:
Dwight Freeney was unsure after Super Bowl, but source says he's decided now: he wants to play a 16th NFL season. Free agent next week.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 27, 2017
The 37 year old appeared in 15 games (1 start) for the NFC Champions last season, recording 10.0 tackles and 3 sacks.
While the output wasn’t all that impressive, Freeney still showed he can get after the quarterback in the Super Bowl, when he had a sack and a number of pressures on New England Patriots quarterback (and longtime nemesis) Tom Brady.
Additionally, Freeney has been credited for being instrumental in the development of promising young Falcons pass rusher Vic Beasley–who finished with a career high of 15.5 sacks this past season.
The 15-year veteran’s also just one season removed from an 8.0 sack season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Currently, Freeney ranks 18th all-time in career sacks with 122.5 sacks, which is just a half a sack behind former Colts teammate Robert Mathis–which could be extra motivation for the veteran coming back for at least one more season.
While it’s too early to speculate a comeback with the Colts, as there’s no telling how many young pass rushers Indianapolis is planning on bringing in this offseason, it also seems reasonable that Freeney still has some gas left in the tank–even if he’s not the every down pass rushing force that he once was.
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If deployed as a situational pass rusher, Freeney has proven that he can still get after the quarterback, while he could also be an invaluable mentor to a young promising pass rusher for any NFL contender.