Is Lynch nearing the end of his rope?

The future consumes John Lynch -- as in the next two weeks.

The question of whether the Denver Broncos safety will return for a 16th season will have to be put on the back burner for now because of those short-term concerns.

The overriding decision won't be an automatic, either way, once he sits down and discusses the matter with his family.

"Right now, the future for me is San Diego," said Lynch, referring to Monday night's game in his hometown against the Chargers, who have locked up the AFC West. "And I'm not avoiding the answer. I don't know myself. I promised myself I would play this year and kind of evaluate things at the end, and that's the only thing I can tell you. That's where I'm at. I haven't made a decision either way."

Lynch, 36, has treated the possible continuation of his career at this stage as an annual exercise since he hit a decade in the league. He has one season left on a three-year, $8.5 million deal.

In February 2006, when Lynch signed that pact, he commented he had "two to three really good years left," and that while playing two more seasons was definite, he admitted at the time, "the third one, I don't know." That uncertain period is upon him.

There will be several factors involved, including whether he and the team believe he's still playing at a consistently high level.

But the passion for the game hasn't died, Lynch said.

"It's still there," he said. "And guys always laugh at me after the game about that. But that's who I am. That hasn't left, I guarantee you that."

At the same time, Lynch has seen his playing time decrease this season. He has been removed in favor of Domonique Foxworth on obvious passing downs. And for a player who has participated in 99 percent of the defensive snaps the past two seasons, it has been a difficult adjustment.

"Believe me, I don't like that," Lynch said. "But I guess everything factors into the decision. That's why I have to step back at the end of the season. It's emotional."

One of the other criteria figures to be how close Lynch feels the Broncos are to contending for the Super Bowl. At various points this season, he has believed the team has turned the corner only to see the performance turn consistently inconsistent. But he also never has doubted, and still doesn't, the organization's commitment to adding personnel, even though "people can argue the point of whether what they went out and got was effective" last offseason.

"It's hard to gauge where this team's at," Lynch said. "But this organization not making the playoffs for two years, it happens a lot of places but not here. . . . And they're going to do everything they can to get this turned around."

All the uncertainty from an overall team perspective seemingly makes it even more important the Broncos keep a solid locker- room presence in Lynch to maintain stability.

"It's funny because I don't know and I don't think he knows," cornerback Champ Bailey said of his friend's looming decision. "I hope I'm one of the first people he tells because it's been special to be able to play with him. Whatever he does, I wish him the best and I hope he comes back."

Bailey came to Denver with Lynch in 2004 with designs on a Super Bowl ring that so far has proven elusive.

"I know he wants to walk away from the game on his terms and not due to injury or anything . . . ," Bailey said. "But the guy's still got a lot left in the tank."

A neck injury Lynch suffered in the first quarter Oct. 29 against Green Bay "spooked" the safety, given his history that included a 2003 surgery to remove neck spurs. But it turned out to only be a pinched nerve. And his health moving forward shouldn't be an issue in terms of the decision-making process, although Lynch promised to immediately step away from the game the next time he hurts his neck.

Still, "I've been back on the field and fine," he said.

And, he noted, his wife, Linda, won't stand in his way, whatever he decides.

"My wife's good to me like that. She lets me make those decisions," he said. "So I'm going to play my (butt) off the next two weeks, and then sit back and make a good decision."

(Contact Lee Rasizer of the Rocky Mountain News at www.rockymountainnews.com.)