Colts’ Mathis plans to retire

Pass rusher, 35, announces Sunday’s game will be his last.

When Robert Mathis speaks, the Indianapolis Colts listen. Every time.

It’s a right the outside linebacker earned by playing 14 productive NFL seasons — all with the same team, all with the same passion, all with the same penchant for putting quarterbacks on the ground.

So when he finished practice Friday and gathered his teammates, Mathis, 35, stood in the center and made his announcement quickly and clearly: Sunday’s season finale against Jacksonville will be his last game. He made it official a short time later in an emotional news conference.

“This will be 98’s last game,” he said.

After missing 13 games in his first 11 pro seasons, Mathis has missed 19 over the past three, including the entire 2014 season — the first four to serve a performance enhancers suspension for what he claimed was a banned fertility drug, the past 12 after tearing his Achilles tendon.

His stats have taken a hit, too. From 2004 through 2013, Mathis never had fewer than seven sacks or 35 tackles in a season. Those numbers dropped to seven sacks and 24 tackles in 2015 and four sacks and 22 tackles this season.

So Mathis decided to leave the game on his own terms.

“Rob has nothing more to prove, he’s such a damn good football player,” kicker Adam Vinatieri said. “He’s just a hard-working dude, a silent warrior.”

Not many pass rushers have done it better than the Atlanta native. His resume includes six consecutive Pro Bowl appearances; two Super Bowl appearances with one world championship; the Colts’ career record for sacks (122); the 2013 league sacks title (19.5); and his trademark tomahawk chop that has forced a league-high 51 fumbles since 2003.

Vikings: Adrian Peterson is listed as out for the season finale against the Bears on Sunday, leaving open the possibility the star running back has played his final game for Minnesota. Peterson was listed Friday as having groin and knee injuries. He missed 11 games with a torn cartilage in his right knee, returned for one game and has missed the final two games of the year. Peterson, 31, is under contract for more than $18 million next season and it is unlikely the Vikings will keep him at that price.

Seahawks: Michael Bennett and club reached agreement on a three-year extension that will keep the defensive end under contract through the 2020 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.

Bennett, 31, has been a standout since arriving in Seattle in 2013. In his four seasons with the Seahawks, Bennett has 29½ sacks and seven forced fumbles.

Chiefs: Ruled out linebacker Justin Houston for Sunday’s game in San Diego with swelling in his surgically repaired left knee, throwing into question the fourtime Pro Bowl pass rusher’s playoff status. Running back Spencer Ware (ribs) and cornerback Phillip Gaines (knee) are questionable.

Jets: Matt Forte’s first season in New York is officially over. The veteran running back was placed on injured reserve after being ruled out for the finale against the Bills on Sunday with a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Raiders: Suspended pass rusher Aldon Smith will not be reinstated by the NFL this season. Spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has deferred a decision on Smith’s petition for reinstatement until March.

Bears: Rookie linebacker Leonard Floyd will likely miss the season finale at Minnesota because of a concussion. Floyd was listed as doubtful after sitting out practice.

Paul George scored 32 points, including 11 in the final 4½ minutes, to help Indiana snap a four-game losing streak. Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Dwyane Wade had 20 for Chicago.

Behind a season-high 27 points from Trey Burke off the bench and another doubledouble from John Wall, Washington reached .500 for the first time this season. Wall had 19 points and 14 assists for his eighth double-double in nine games. Trevor Booker had 16 points and seven rebounds for Brooklyn.

Isaiah Thomas scored 29 of his career-high 52 points in the fourth quarter, leading Boston past Miami. Thomas hit six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and broke the franchise record of 24 points in a quarter set by Larry Bird in 1983 and matched by Todd Day in 1995.

Anthony Davis had 23 points and 18 rebounds as New Orleans won its fourth straight game. Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 13 rebounds for New York, which has lost three straight.

Andrew Wiggins scored 31 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead Minnesota past Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points for the Bucks.

Paul Millsap scored 26 points and Kyle Korver added a season-high 22 as Atlanta beat Detroit. Dwight Howard had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks. Jon Leuer scored a career-high 22 for Detroit.

James Harden had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as Houston rolled. Clippers guard Austin Rivers and father/coach Doc Rivers were ejected in the second quarter as Los Angeles dropped its fifth straight game. Danny Green and Tony Parker each had 18 points as San Antonio won its fourth straight and 13th in the past 15 games. C.J. McCollum finished with 29 points for Portland. Late Late

Robert Mathis is 18th in NFL history with 122 sacks.