Patriots' Harrison will retire in near future so son can play

New England Patriots linebacker James Harrison, who'll be a free agent once the Super Bowl has concluded, plans on playing in 2018, and possibly 2019, but will be thinking about his son thereafter.

"I maybe want to play a year at 40, maybe 41," Harrison said, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Set to turn 40 on May 4, Harrison says his inevitable retirement won't necessarily be a result of age or diminished play.

"At some point in time, I'm going to have to stop (playing)," Harrison said. "I told my son he could play contact football when I stop, so I'm going to have to give it up in the near future, so he can start getting adjusted to playing. I don't want him to wait too long."

His son, James III, is 10 years old, and Harrison doesn't want him to be at the disadvantage of playing against kids with more experience.