"Kerry Collins entered the NFL as a hot-shot young quarterback in 1995, a first-round pick by the Carolina Panthers after a year when he led Penn State to an undefeated season while shattering school records.

Yet after 3½ seasons, his career — and life — were going in the wrong direction. Collins struggled with alcoholism, which led to off-the-field issues. The Panthers cut him during the 1998 season. It was the low point of his 16-year career.

The turn of events also was a wake-up call. Collins knew he needed to change his ways.

"I really kind of looked in the mirror and said, 'What do I want my story to be?' " Collins said. "When I am 50, and look back on my NFL career, what do I want to be able to tell people about it and what do I want people to think about it?' … I wanted to be able to look back and say, 'Regardless of what happened in some of those years in the beginning, I came back and did it the right way.' "

Now, Collins is going out on his own terms. The former Titans quarterback on Wednesday agreed to be interviewed with a handful of print reporters who regularly cover the team to discuss his recent retirement from the NFL. He said he didn't want any fanfare — no cameras or photographers.

Collins, who would have been an option for the Titans had he elected to return for 2011, said he reached a point where he realized his heart wasn't in the game anymore. Collins played from 2006-10 with the Titans. He also played with the Panthers (95-98), Saints (98), Giants (99-2003) and Raiders (04-05) during a career in which he threw for 40,441 yards and 206 touchdowns.

"Sundays are always going to be Sundays and I am sure that first Sunday that comes around this fall, I will probably be freaking out sitting around watching it," Collins said with a smile. "But at the same time, there's a lot of things I won't miss. I know what it takes to prepare for a season, and my commitment to do that is just not there anymore. If I could just show up on Sundays and play, great. But I know it takes more than that. I don't want to do it to just be hanging on."

He promised he won't pull a Brett Favre and renege on his retirement plans."