Steve Smith to Play Final NFL Game Against Bengals

Steve Smith, wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, will play his final professional game in the National Football League (NFL) when he faces the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular season finale.

"I am 89 percent sure (about retirement). Football has given me more than I probably have been able to give it. But for 2016, 17 and beyond, this will probably be my last game," the veteran receiver said in a press conference.

Smith had planned to end his career at the end of the 2015 season, however, he suffered a knee ligament tear halfway through the campaign, so he decided to rehabilitate and return to the field for one more season with Baltimore.

The player retires from the NFL as one of the best wide receivers of recent years, becoming one of the 11 players in league history to record over a thousand receptions and 14 thousand yards. He currently has 14,697 yards.

"I have exceeded all expectations. I'm going to miss it. I'm going to mourn. It's something that has been a part of my life for the past 16 years. It's going to be a transition," Smith added.

The 36-year-old player entered the NFL in 2001, after being selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the Draft, a team with which he spent the first 13 seasons of his career and became one of the franchise's main figures.

With the Ravens eliminated from playoff contention, Smith will play his final game in Week 17 against the Bengals, and retire with the certainty that he will enter the NFL Hall of Fame in five years.