Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. announced Monday that he would be retiring at the end of the 2015 season.

"I feel like it's time," Smith said during his announcement following training camp practice. "I'm going to retire after this, go home and be a dad and look back and enjoy things."

"Sometimes it's better to walk away when you hear that voice talking to you, than to wait and they push you out the door," he also tweeted Monday.

As noted by ESPN, the 36-year-old is coming into his 15th season is one of only two players in NFL history to surpass 13,000 receiving yards and 4,000 return yards. Smith currently ranks 18th in league history in receptions (915), 14th in receiving yards (13,262) and 33rd in touchdown catches (73). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame this past weekend.

"I don't want to hold on," Smith said. "Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver to ever play. But I don't believe that chasing whatever it is to chase for four more years would be conducive to my family or be conducive to me. I would be having to give up something. I would be jeopardizing something. I don't know what that 'it' is, and I have no intentions of finding out."

"He certainly earned the right to go out on his own terms," coach John Harbaugh was quoted in the ESPN report. "If you look at what he's doing, he's going out at the top of his game. There is no question about that."

As noted by the ESPN report, Smith spent 13 seasons with the Carolina Panthers and was a five-time Pro Bowler before being released in March 2014. He left the franchise as their all-time leader in catches (836), receiving yards (12,197) and touchdowns (67).

"If this is going to be the end, this is going to be the best place to end," he said. "I think it's always easier when you have a finish line. You get to let things loose."