Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will turn 39 in March, creating speculation that the veteran will decide to retire after the 2014 NFL season.

In a recent interview, Manning, who is in contract until after the 2016 season, denied reports suggesting that he is planning to call it quits after this season, saying that all talks about his future at this point should be ignored.

Manning said that he knows that talks about his retirement are unavoidable because of his age, but he reiterated that he will be back next season if the Broncos want him to return. He added that he is not yet thinking about his future as he is focused on Denver's crucial game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

"I certainly plan on being back if the Broncos would have me, but at this point I'm kind of thinking about Oakland," Manning told reporters via ESPN. "I know this is the time where conversations about what head coaches are going to return and I guess for some reason I get to fall into that category because I'm closer to the same age as some of the coaches."

Talks about Manning's future started circulating on Monday night after the 17-year veteran struggled in their 37-28 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Manning had four interceptions, which marked his first four-interception game since the 2010 NFL season.

But despite failing to live up to expectations against the Bengals on Monday night, Manning has been showing that he still has a lot of gas left in his tank. He currently leads the league in touchdown passes with 39 -- one touchdown away from becoming the first quarterback to have at least 40 touchdown passes in three seasons.

Broncos general manager and executive vice president of football operations John Elway has been firm on his stance that Manning, who has completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 4,454 yards this year, will continue playing for the Broncos beyond the current season.

Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware also expects Manning to play next season, pointing out that their superstar can still compete at a high level in the next several years.

"We have talked, and he keeps saying he feels good and that if he has good football left, he wants to keep playing," Ware said via Denver Post. "Part of the reason I came here was to play with him, so it's great news. I think he he has a lot of good years left."

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